New Memories
by Dreaming Aloud
Summary: Okay, This fic ISN'T going to be deleted because I've been persuaded otherwise but still be aware it might take ages, if ever till I write the sequel.
1. Unexpected Entry

This is my third story but will be written slower (possibly) then my others and hopefully won't have as many mistakes, I haven't any real ideas for chapters but I got the plot sorted out...sort of anyway. My other fics are under the same category if anyone is interested. I really will appreciate all reviews. Thanks. Oh yeah, this is not related to my other stories and is set after POP SoT and is not related to the POP Warrior Within game – but might lead onto it. Plus it is written (mainly) from the Prince's view.

**Chapter One: Unexpected Entry**

I mused as the sun set. It was so beautiful yet I never trusted it (like someone I remember...), because it always made me think about time and how it never went one way, for I knew, the dawn could mean sunset not the other way round. The sun's warm beams warmed my face. It had been a few months since we had moved through India to return to Persia. To what was considered the most magnificent palace in the known world, a palace (that was in Persepolis) that was incrusted with sparkling jewels from distant lands. My father, the King of the great Persian Empire, had been killed before my eyes by the one object I hated so badly, the Sands of Time. I had watched him be consumed by them and then later I had to slaughter him and end his wretched life as a sand monster. But then again, I hadn't witnessed such a thing, as time had gone backwards so that the whole cataclysm hadn't happened...and so, I had never met Farah and she never remembered me.

I hated that fact, but I was happy I never had to see her face everyday, so my pain remained reasonably tame and was never refreshed. What a dread if it was. If I could have any wish, any at all, from honour, glory or riches beyond my dreams, I would not chose any of those things, no, I would chose for my Farah to receive knowledge of what had happened, what had happened between us. Why would she never remember? No matter how much I tried to forget her, it would never happen as her face was etched like the finest picture by a master artist in my mind. I did not know though what was to come. I was not aware of what new adventure awaited me. As I was soon to befriend a mystical thief, and then go in search of a legendary and mythical object, a creation that Dahaka himself had created: the Fountain of Sight. And of course, I would have to meet up again with Farah to take her there...against her will that is...

It started the same evening (well it actually started in the small hours of the next day) as the one where I was musing as the sun was setting to allow her sister, the moon, to arise. As the moon hung mindlessly in the sky, I slumbered briefly. I suffered from another hellish nightmare, one where I constantly saw the flashing teleporting bodies of the sand monsters and then at the end...I would see my dear Farah, she would just walk away. Then I would wake. However, this night was different, yes, I had awoken again from a nightmare but I felt a strange sensation, a sensation of being watched or stalked, I felt that there was a foreigner in the palace, and not one with good intentions, I decided to find out for myself.

I ran my hands through my hair that was darkening from the sun gradually, it was just to make it look neat, everyone always expected to see me at my very best and sometimes, no, a lot of the times this was a nuisance. The high-ceilinged corridors had amazing painted pictures hung on the walls that glared at me, occasionally with a smile. That was when I saw the dark figure, over time, my eyes had become ammune to darkness and I was able to make out the shapes of bodies or objects. This person was wearing all black. Their trousers were not baggy like that of my own but where close to the skin, maybe so the person could run or move quicker or in a more agile way. The person, that was short and slender, especially round the waist, was wearing a bandanna, a black one but it did not hide the full long length of the jet-black glossy hair. The figure was at the end of a corridor, by an open balcony, on the wall were some golden shelves, that had small figures on it, they had been made of pure gold and couldn't be bought by any normal person. This person had a side-bag that was made of a rough material and the figures were removed quickly and then were placed in the bag. How on Earth could a thief get into a palace of the Persian king. No matter, I could easily deal with this intruder and have him put in the prison where he would then would suffer a slow and painful death. I still didn't understand how I was never effected by the idea of the death chamber when I had seen them myself and the terrible tortuous hooks that hung, blood smeared from the ceiling. I drew my sword silently and approached the thief. I raised my sword and -!

_FLASH_

I drew my sword silently and approached the thief. I raised my sword but then the figure suddenly turned round and punched me hard, but not hard enough to knock me from my feet though. I saw for barely a second that it was a woman, well the hair should have given that away! However, I had noticed something, she had been able to rewind time, how? Her skin was similar to mine and was dark and she shared the same pointed chin but her nose was smaller than mine and was pointed but her eyes were the same as mine, a green. She darted out the balcony, I followed quickly, I wasn't so much bothered now about how she had stolen some of the most expensive things in the land but now I was mystified by how she could control time. She stood on the edge and twisted her body so she was running against the wall! I thought I was the only one that could do that! I followed hastily, but the wall was too long, neither of us could carry on before wretched gravity took its course! We both held on as long as we could but was eventually confronted with a long drop! Argh! Wh-uh... I managed to catch onto another balcony just before I crashed to a near death, I felt a strain in my left leg and as I looked down, I saw that the thief had grabbed my leg. The ground below would be safe to land on as it were the gardens, I dropped down and both of us landed on the damp grass, for the morning that was approaching. I was quickly pushed away as the thief had broken my fall.

"OW! Do you mind?" cried the woman. I got up onto to my feet, slightly shaken from what had happened. I turned to her, shocked.

"Me? You were stealing some of the most expensive things in my palace!" I cried.

"Yes well being a thief that is kinda the point of life, oh they weren't that expensive I was stealing more important things when you were still using wooden swords," cried the nameless woman, she was about my age, possibly younger. She dusted herself off. Suddenly I heard the approaching of guards with their bladed staffs. The woman-thief must have heard them and grabbed me by the arm and suddenly with a blinding flash of yellow light we both seemed to dematerialise, oh no, we were teleporting like sand creatures! Who on Earth was this woman? How could she do these things?

"Wh-uh, where are we?" I asked shakily, I looked around, everywhere I looked I saw empty market stalls.

"I believe this is the market place," said the woman, she still held my arm. I pulled it away from her latches.

"Who are you?" I demanded.

"Well I'm usually just called 'hey you!' but my actual name is Shirin. I would tell you my second name if I had one," said the woman, she stood weapon-less. Every thief I had seen had a dagger at least.

"Why don't you have a second name?" I asked, now softer and more politely, though I was still confused by the woman.

"Well this is gonna sound mad. I have always been able to teleport like a sand creature uh wait you don't know what they are –"started Shirin.

"Actually I do, continue," I explained. She stood surprisingly, quite shyly, rocking with slight embarrassment and she held one arm with her hand behind her back.

"Well, I don't know how but I always have been able to do pretty much anything like a sand creature and I'm able to run on walls because I taught myself. Huh...it was because I am like the demonic sand creatures that my family disowned me. I became a thief after that. I so badly want to find a book or something that explains the phenomena of this strangeness...huh, oh I'm sorry you're not the type to get moved easily. I have been babbling, I'll just teleport away now," she said. She peered up and saw my face, it must have been blank as I listened intensely. She backed off but I found myself grabbing her arm. Why? Why was I doing that? Maybe her story had moved me because I felt a need to help her. However, she obviously thought something different. "Oh you want your things back, huh, they weren't too interesting," she said as my hand came over her arm. She felt in her bag.

"No, no, listen in the library of my palace you will probably find such a book, come back to it and look," I said. She looked confused.

"No you don't get it. I just tried to loot your palace, you aren't suppose to be trying to help me, in fact, we shouldn't have even have had nice words," she pointed out. Although I barely knew her...I felt somewhat drawn to her, not with love, no, I still loved Farah, but I was drawn to this thief, Shirin, with friendship.

"Well, I'm no ordinary prince and you're obviously no ordinary thief, so I'll tell you my story and while we are in the library we can try find yours," I smiled. She gave in and followed me. I began telling her my story. It did not matter if she ran off, thieves kept to themselves and it was unlikely she would tell anyone. I saw the sun rising, a new day, a new friend (though I didn't trust her and it was more than likely vice versa) and a new journey that was to begin soon.


	2. Fountain of Sight

**Chapter Two: Fountain of Sight**

I watched her but I hoped she wouldn't realise that. Then again, she probably had noticed. One thing I had noted about her was her very good senses and reflexes. The palace's library was large and was very much like that of the large cold library that was in Azad. However, this palace's library didn't have a pit of spikes, for quite a few days I wondered why that pit was there, did an annoyed mentor find it a habitual action to throw his pupils in it when they weren't concentrating? Shirin was up above on the first floor balcony of the library and searched nearly every book that might have a hint of explanation about her strangeness. It was only now I realised how stupid my actions were. She was practically a sand creature...just with more Human-like looks and control, but most stupidly of all, I had invited her in the palace! Moreover, she was a thief! That was a fact I pondered over for a long time, how could she be a thief, her personality didn't reflect what her occupation was and neither did her looks, except for her pointed chin and nose, her looks were soft, especially her green eyes. She was quiet and cheery, she wasn't overly lively and she didn't flaunt herself either. Although she seemed perfectly trustworthy I felt somewhat...fearful of her. I occasionally joined her, she wasn't particularly well educated and couldn't read the writing very well and sometimes she needed sharper eyes to read the fading writing. As I talked more to her, when she was willing to talk, I learnt more about her past. She had been abandoned three days after she had been born and had been left on the steps of a building where some of the greatest warriors trained. It was explained that her mother had probably hoped that one of the warriors would kill the defenceless baby, however, instead she was taken in and was taught their ways. However she suffered from a great need to take things that didn't belong to her, it was like an illness, she didn't need the things she took but took them nevertheless. She was thrown out because of this, but kept her learnt skills to become a thief, however, she admitted that occasionally she let her awareness go, like she had done last night.

It was now late afternoon and she finally returned to the wooden table I was sat at.

"How can there be so many books but not one containing the knowledge I want?" she asked rhetorically. She looked annoyed at herself, it was understandable, as she had been looking since...well, I had lost track of time but I knew it had been long, too long to go without sleep.

"Have you ever considered that maybe things are more obvious then you think?" I asked. This proved an annoyance to her, she probably thought that if anything was obvious then she would have figured it out by now. She glared at me. "Think about it. If you have the abilities of a sand creature then you must have sand inside of you, as in the Sands of Time. Simple," I said. She was slouching against the table, supporting her head with her left arm. She sat up and back in the chair she was in.

"So what are you saying? Dahaka, the creator of the sands decided to pick my mother to have a child impregnated with the sands?" asked Shirin.

"Well he is the God of Fate I believe, he probably did it for a reason," I shrugged. Shirin smiled.

"What? So he's annoyed at what you did to his hourglass so he's sent me to meet you, so I'm assassin," she joked yet I took it seriously. That idea had never even entered my mind but it should have been so obvious, maybe she was given that power to later meet me and kill me. She saw the thoughts on my face, she could see exactly what I was thinking.

"I was only joking. Honestly the thought had never entered my mind, I may be a thief but I don't go around killing people," said Shirin. I smiled to show that I believed her yet something was getting at me, the whole idea that what she had joked about could be true. For all I knew she could be plotting away right now! After all, she knew she had the right guy because I had told her my story. In addition, she hadn't seemed terribly surprised at my story, as if she had heard it before, maybe she had and maybe she was definitely going to kill me! Again, my true thoughts were reflected on my face, she knew I was thinking about my story. "Listen, I know a lot about the sands because of the way I feel related to them, I knew what the turn out would be of your actions so I already could guess what would happen, however, hearing about Farah was a surprise. It must hurt thinking how close you were and then seeing how she later...or earlier, acted around you." Said Shirin. My thoughts shifted to those of Farah, and then I found myself asking the question of why she couldn't remember me. I knew why, because she had died, but wasn't there a least one single memory of me? I simply nodded to Shirin's question. "Well the sands weren't the only thing Dahaka created," Shirin said optimistically. I had been looking down but now looked up. What did Shirin mean?

"What do you mean?" I asked seriously.

"Well, there are legends of an old temple, in a land north of India, in a large mountain range. The temple is supposedly overrun with creatures that bleed and become part of the darkness and move so fast you can barely comprehend what they are going to do next. They are supposedly the warriors of Dahaka. The temple is called the Temple of Sight and in the centre of it is the Fountain of Sight. Memories that were lost in expired time, time that never seemed to exist will be reawakened if you drink its silver water. However, because it is so scared it is so heavily guarded. Supposedly, the steps to the temple are the hardest to pass in the world. But if such a place existed and you took Farah there to drink the water, then her memories would come back to her and she would know you again," explained Shirin. My eyes widened, if such a place existed then I could be reunited with the Farah that I knew and loved. I had to take her there, I had to make her remember again, but I didn't know where it was, Shirin did though.

"Do you like long journeys Shirin?" I asked happily. She was confused.

"Um, well how long?" she asked digging deeper into the question.

"Well, from here to India...that's far I would say by horse," I smiled.

"What are you saying?" asked Shirin. I smiled.

"I'm saying we're going to India and going to get Farah to go to the Fountain of Sight,"


	3. Empty Lands

_I disclaim all characters used in this story except for my own creations. I would just like to point out here that it was Kathryn Kelly who did the research for me, she found out where Farah's palace was. Thanks Kathryn. 8) _

**Chapter Three: Empty lands**

I hadn't counted how long it had been in days, so I wasn't fully sure of the time, but I knew Shirin and I had been together so long that our personalities were proving irritable to each other. We trekked across an empty land that would eventually lead to our destination, Amber Fort, the centre of India. Yet that would still take a while, and we were running out of food and water, we were becoming intolerably thirsty as the heat from the sun continued to beat down on the crown of our heads. I could never live as a nomad; I was too indulged in a life of comfort to live a desolate life in these lands. We had originally set out with plenty of food and two horses, however, something in the night scared off Shirin's horse, so we now only had half the supplies and one horse. Shirin was annoyed and knocked her head against my back so I got annoyed too, but I held back my tongue so I didn't say something harsh and venomous back to her.

"How many more weeks are we going to be stuck out here?" she cried out, I removed a map from a leather holder that I had tucked away carefully in a wicker basket, on top of all its contents so I did not lose it. Shirin pushed me aside so she was able to see the map. "Amber Fort eh? Do you think they have any nice shiny things there?" the thief asked. Her thoughts were probably racing and it was more than likely she was now wishing she had bought a piece of clothing with more pockets. I placed the map back into its holder.

"Well, even if they do have shiny things you cannot take anything, you will probably get us removed from the palace before we even see the Maharajah," I said peering over my shoulder, she was sat with folded arms.

"What? You mean to say we're actually going to go up to the Maharajah and ask him if his daughter will come with us? What have you been inhaling?" she exclaimed. She leaned forward to talk to me.

"Why? What is wrong with that plan? It is not like I'm asking for her hand in marriage," I asked confused. I heard her sigh, this must have been accompanied with a shake of the head and the rolling of her eyes. She cleared her throat and put on a deeper sounding voice, my voice, or at least an incredibly horrendous and mocking version of my voice.

"_Your Majesty, would it be okay if we just took your daughter to a place that could very well be mythical? Uh, yes she could very well get killed oh and yes you noticed I am a Persian_," mocked Shirin. I understood what she meant, it wasn't particularly the best plan. I obviously hadn't thought the whole plan through. "I have an idea, we wait to Farah's dad's candle of life is blown out, she'll be a Maharini and then we'll ask her," suggested Shirin.

"Well I cannot say I am very good at understanding the system of Indian royalty, but I am sure a Maharajah is just a Indian prince, so in all it cannot be that difficult to talk to him as I too I'm royalty. But like you said, the whole plan of just asking him would be too far-fetched, but we cannot just wait, do you have any more suggestions?" I asked.

"Well let's just do what I do," suggested Shirin. What did she mean? She was always saying things that never meant anything unless they were explained.

"Explain," I ordered.

"Well I'm a thief, so what do thieves do?" she asked.

"You steal things," I said, but then it dawned on me, I suddenly understood what she was implying, I darted round to face her and pulled the horse to a stop. "I am NOT kidnapping Farah," I cried. Shirin's face was blank and for some odd reason she looked like she was looking through me.

"Um, Your Majesty," she started but I interrupted her, I wasn't going to let her suggest any more ideas.

"What type of impression would that give, Shirin? If I did that then India and Persia could be serious enemies, that would lead to wars, and although the Persian army is powerful I do not want lives to be lost over my own actions, not again," I said. She rolled her eyes through the middle of my next sentence, "You honestly don't think of the-!" I started but she suddenly grabbed me.

"Shut up and turn round!" she cried and spun me round. I saw now why she was looking so blank before. A group of twenty dark cloaked nomads, thieves, low-lives, bandits had arranged themselves in front of us. All clutching sharpened scimitars, the sun glinted off them, almost making them glow with slight redness. Similarly on what must have been the leader of the group, his face was covered with a black linen, but his eyes were a brown that turned a tertiary red in the sun's rays. They had emerged from over a dune. I knew I couldn't fight them all...not even if Shirin was about to reveal a weapon would I be strong enough to take all twenty on. We were being robbed.

All we could do was stand by and watch them go through our things, they seemed to make away with everything we had, our map, our food, even the horse though it was on its last legs after having to carry our things and our bodies. I thought at times my father could be ruthless when he sentenced criminals but they had those things coming to them, what had Shirin and I ever done to deserve this bad luck? Well...Shirin was a thief and I had destroyed a whole palace load of people through foolish actions. We stood idly with our hands in the air.

"This isn't right," muttered Shirin from the corner of her mouth to me, "I'm a thief yet my things are being stolen." It obviously annoyed her, it was probably getting to her more than it was getting to me. The leader mounted onto his horse, a black creature that lacked the grace of my own brown horse that now was in their possession. He knew that I was the Prince, my face was well known, I was my father's most cherished son and usually joined him when he promenaded through the streets of Persepolis. The leader, that was a large broad-shouldered dark man, decided to mock the royal fact about me and was more than likely proud of himself for being able to have such a person in his list of victims.

"Heh, Prince of Persia, whatever. Just a pathetic coward," he spat and his horse along with the others' turned to face away from Shirin and I and they rode away. We couldn't catch up with them, like I had said before, there was no away of defeating them all, Shirin hadn't a weapon so they could easily just use her as a Human shield.

We just stood, it probably had been at least three minutes yet we just remained still. They had probably started galloping in case we did consider the foolish act of following them.

"So what now?" Shirin asked, it was a good question, but one I hadn't yet had an answer to. I began walking, she didn't copy at first but soon caught up. "Well?" she asked wanting an answer.

"Maybe we will meet someone, hopefully we'll find a travelling merchant or something and then we can get a ride," I said.

"Uh yes but you really should realise that we are well and truly-"she started but I gave her a glare that stopped her from saying the next word.

How could any creature live in the conditions that Shirin and I wandered through, moving like the dead, spirits that were neither seen or heard? I watched the sun toy with us, and tease us with its sheer heat, it was now midday and the sun was at its hottest. My mouth was dry but my body was moist from sweat. Shirin gave up first and collapsed and then I felt something calling me as I knelt down to tend to her, I hoped it wasn't death but I felt the need to just fall and give up as well. I knew in desert conditions it was always hotter near the ground and that you should try and avoid being near it. I saw the ground ripple in front of me, I wished it was water but I knew my mind was just playing tricks on me...or was it? Was there some refreshing water in the distance. I couldn't hold onto consciousness anymore as the heat overwhelmed me. I collapsed beside Shirin's body. I was now in the hands of fate. Fate would decide whether I was destined to die here and if my body was meant to be left to the scavengers that were flying around above or if someone would eventually come and help us. That is...if we held onto life long enough.


	4. Warning

**Chapter Four: Warning.**

I found my hand had found a Human body. A woman's body, I placed my arm and hand around the waist and for a few moments, I was in a wonderful world where I was with Farah, I was in a place where she did remember and we were together again...however, no such thing could just happen. As I opened my eyes, that little world that I lived in for a few moments was shattered as I found that it wasn't Farah. It was Shirin! I wasn't heavily bothered though...because I knew it must have been her, time wouldn't just change so I was with Farah, but nevertheless, it was still a shock! She was in slumber beside me; I shifted quickly away from her. I almost felt a need to cry, because I so badly wished it was Farah. That feeling that you received when you were young, the feeling when you so badly wanted something but couldn't have it surged through me. We were no longer in the desert, but in an enclosed place that was dark. As my hand drifted through the space we were in, the tips of my fingers encountered a soft material, the type that was used mainly on tents. We were in a tent, it was black yet with a bluish purple tint to it. Someone must have found us and took us in their care. I looked back at Shirin in her peaceful sleep, however, she didn't always look so peaceful as her face contorted sometimes as if in pain or fear. What did her mind's eye see? I usually saw repetitive things in my dreams, sand creatures and monsters, none of which honestly scared me that much, yet when I saw Farah walk away, never to remember, that did make me scared, the thought of her never knowing who I was. Sometimes, the idea of just moving on from Farah had entered my head, but it never stuck there, Farah had been my one and only true love, so I could never love anyone the way I loved her. It felt cold...so it must have been the night, as the corners of the tent seemed to flap in the occasional passing breeze. An aroma of food entered the tent and lingered under my nose, it was then when the pain that had always been there in my stomach confronted me. If I needed to then I could go for quite a while without food...but the pain was quite overwhelming in my stomach and seemed almost stifling. The front of the tent, that was at my feet, was pulled aside and a woman, that was covered in white (to reflect the sun's heat, she could have been with child, so she had to be protected from the sun that could easily make her collapse), knelt at the entrance. Her face was one that was kind and was darkened from the sun, her eyes were a dark brown and seemed to tell a story, but it was a story I couldn't decode. A black fringe peered out boldly against the whiteness of the coverings. She didn't say a word but smiled politely, in her hands, she had two bowls, they seemed to have been carved out of wood, and very well carved at that, they had a smooth finish so there was no chance of eating splinters. Shirin stirred in her sleep and her eyes fluttered open, she saw the woman and sat up, her hair cloaking her back. She didn't react when she saw me, but maybe that was because she didn't wish to look childish in front of me. She had that way about her; a child like innocence but it was a great contrast compared to me, as I acted much more mature to me. At times, I felt this put her down and made her feel simple. However, I was sure she was cursing wildly at me in her mind! The woman passed us the bowls that contained rice with several pieces of meat. We accepted them, she then politely smiled and left. I knew being me, I should have probably thought over why she hadn't said anything, but I couldn't concentrate on that, not when there was food in front of me! I ate it down and found that the rice had a slight sweetness to it and the meat was drenched in a rich sauce. I hadn't tasted such a food, my own favourite dish was patra ni macchi with dhansak, a Persian meal. This wasn't a Persian meal.

"So we've just been rescued by...?" asked Shirin as she ate the food. Unlike me, she found time to chew it, this made me feel a little rude just ramming the food into my mouth. Yet, I was too hungry to bother with manners.

"Why do you think I now? We'll probably found out soon, they can't be bad, they've fed us haven't they?" I replied. I took in a last scoop of the food, the wooden spoons were flat so it was hard to keep food on them but that didn't stop me from finishing my food quickly. As I looked down at the empty bowl, I wished it was full again, but for now the food I had eaten would line my stomach and stop me from getting hungry anytime soon.

"Maybe they are cannibals and are just fattening us up before they eat us..." murmured Shirin, she sat still with her wide eyes thinking; they also had the child-like innocence that surrounded the rest of her.

"Yes, maybe they are or maybe you just have an overactive imagination," I smiled sarcastically. She jabbed at my upper arm with her long fingers as she got annoyed as I wasn't taking her seriously, but it was difficult as her imagination played away. I remained smiling, amused at her thoughts.

"Well don't come crying to me when they're eating your brains...you'll be all '_oh would you look at that Shirin, they're cannibals and they're trying to eat every part of my royal body...any chance of teleporting me out of here?' _They always go for the brains don't they? It's like a delicacy isn't it?" she murmured with all with a straight face, she was actually being serious! I sat amused with my head resting sideways on my knees, I had pulled them up close to my body.

"It's going to be quite a thud when you eventually come back down to Earth isn't it Shirin?" I smiled. She shoved me hard and sat like a sulky child, with her head hung and her leg and arms crossed.

"Stupid prince," she muttered quietly under her breath. I knew she wouldn't stay sulky forever, she would probably steal something nice and she would forget we ever had the argument. Our attentions were peeled away from the argument and placed on the front of the tent. A man wearing blue entered, his clothes were that of the standard desert nomads, the material that covered his whole body was thin and would let him feel the breeze. His face was dark and he had the darkness of facial hair under his nose and mouth. His eyes were a bright green, brighter than mine were. He had an essence of authority about him, the scimitar at his side probably assisted this impression. He was of a larger build then I was and was older by at least twenty or thirty years. His nose was large but not wide and it seemed very pointed at the end. His face was angular and his eyebrows were dark, bushy and black. His face was lined with his age but he probably held a lot of wisdom. I had been told that you had to make mistakes to learn from them. However, I got the impression that this man had made very few mistakes in his life.

"Um, are you the guy who has been taking care of us and rescued us?" I asked, maybe I should have waited for his name or a greeting at the very least, but for some odd reason, he didn't look like he really had a name. I couldn't think of any names that would particularly suit him. It was quite hard naming someone that didn't really look like a person with any particular name, my father, had said it was hard naming me when I was born...I always just thought it was because all the good names had been taken by my brothers. The man nodded slowly, answering my question.

"Have you or anyone in your family ever considered consuming Human flesh?" asked Shirin quickly.

"Are you asking me if I'm a cannibal?" asked the man tilting his head slightly as he looked at Shirin, he was sat at the entrance of the tent. His voice was powerful yet quiet, it seemed even more powerful than that of my father's. He did have an accent but one that wasn't Persian.

"Wow, you're quick," murmured Shirin.

"Well you'll be happy to know that none of my family are cannibals, or at least not to my knowledge," said the man with a smile to Shirin, "So what are your names?"

"Well I'm Shirin and this is...actually what is your name?" asked Shirin pointing to me. She didn't know my name and few people did, I wasn't particularly planning on revealing it any time soon.

"My name doesn't particularly matter at the moment and neither does yours," I said to the man. "I am the youngest son of King Sharaman of Persia and I thank you for assisting me and Shirin here, you and those who follow you will always be welcomed in the city of Persepolis because of your good deed," I said. Shirin took the man's hand and shook it.

"Yeah thanks," she smiled. The man smiled back and obviously had sharper eyes then I did judging by what he said next.

"Hm, nice try but give my rings back," he ordered. He had had several rings with various stones in them on his fingers but they had just 'disappeared'. Shirin gave them back reluctantly, accompanied by the word 'drat'. She must have removed the rings very quickly as she had barely shaken the man's hand for two seconds. It was a good thing I didn't have the dagger with as she would have stolen it ages ago, not that she needed it as she had already mastered time. I had made a mental note that if I were ever going to a celebration where I would have to wear the best clothes and jewellery, I would most definitely not ask Shirin to accompany me. The man placed his rings back on his hands and I was sure I saw him move away from Shirin. "So what is a Persian prince doing in the middle of the desert with a thief?" asked the man. Well, if I told him my story then maybe he would take pity on the two of us and give us a horse and a map. I started from the beginning, from the point where my father and I waited on the slopes in front of the Indian palace.

I never remembered how long the story took to tell. It must have taken a while as before when I had started, I had heard people outside, the followers of the man I talked to, but now they had all packed up and were all asleep. We had to light a candle so we could still see each other.

"So you wish to go to the Amber Palace, that is well known for it being heavily protected, that being the reason why it is also is called the Amber Fort, and kidnap Princess Farah and then take her to a place that is from a fairytale?" checked the Leader, the man.

"Um, yes, summing it up, that is my plan," I nodded.

"The thief was right, what have you been breathing in?" he cried. "That is madness!" he cried. He obviously didn't think much of what I wished to do, I had noticed that a lot of people were underestimating me. Well I hated to beg but it seemed the only option now.

"Please, can't you put yourself in my position? Haven't you ever lost someone that you have truly loved?" I asked desperately. What I said must have provoked something inside of the Leader as he seemed to reminisce over something in his past.

"Well yes but-"he started but I interrupted.

"Well if you had the chance to bring them back then you wouldn't you? I have a chance to bring Farah back, _my _Farah. Please, can't you just help me?" I pleaded. The Leader remained silent for a few seconds as he toyed with his conscience.

"Amber is my home city. I was exiled from it because I was having a relationship with a woman of noble blood, her status was higher than mine was but if I had the chance to be with her again then I would. Fine, I will help you, my group and I will take you to the outskirts of Amber but from there you will be on your own, for now you should get as much sleep as possible now, we will leave tomorrow," said the Leader. I yelled out in joy in my head but outside I just put a mild smile on my face and forced it to stay reasonably small. The Leader wished us a good night of sleep and then left.

That night, I realised that I had begun to trust a lot more people then I had done before. I trusted a woman with possible connections to a creature that more than likely wanted me dead, yet I didn't think she really did, she was far to kind to want to kill me. In addition, I now trusted a man that I just called the Leader, then again, to him, I was just known as the Prince so he was just like me and was mysterious when it came to names. I was happy that night for I knew that every second that passed it meant that soon I would be back with Farah. Finally, I was beginning to like time as it temporarily flowed like a river in its one direction.

The next morning I awoke at dawn with everyone else. I sat on the horse I was given. Shirin was helping the others pack away their camp, I didn't know how many people exactly followed the Leader but everywhere I turned, I saw new faces. I saw the woman again. I saw, in the better light, that she was with child. She was sat on a horse with a man that must have been her husband, she didn't saying anything the whole time I was looking at her. She smiled politely at me as she noticed me, I should have smiled back but I didn't. Her husband made the horse move, I didn't know if he had or hadn't noticed me, but if he had, then it would have been odd just having someone stare at you.

"She's mute," explained a voice. It was the Leader, he was also sat on a horse and joined me.

"Pardon?" I asked not understanding what he meant by 'mute'.

"It means she can't talk," he explained. What an odd concept, I thought, how on Earth did someone get around if they couldn't even talk. Maybe that was the reason why her eyes seemed to tell a story, they spoke for her and so did her smile. The Leader looked around. "Where is that girl, Shirin?" he asked.

"She said she was helping the others, she's around somewhere," I said actually looking around myself, I hoped she hadn't wandered off.

"You shouldn't really trust her," said the Leader. I finally saw Shirin over by a tent quite far away, hm, I would probably have to make her empty her pockets before we left the group for fear of being chased by them.

"What do you mean?" I asked still looking at her, she hadn't noticed me anymore.

"She is related to Dahaka. You told me about her powers last night and someone like that can't be trusted," said the Leader. Shirin looked up and suddenly noticed me.

"She isn't actually related to Dahaka, she wouldn't hurt me, she has helped me so far," I said. Shirin was approaching me now.

"You can say what you want, Prince, but she cannot be trusted, I would keep a eye on her," said the Leader. Shirin was beside me now and she pulled herself up onto my horse.

"What were you two talking about?" she asked, unaware of what we had been talking about, if she had known, she would probably be incredibly mad at me and march off...only later to return after realising that she had no food or water.

"Nothing that concerns you...we are leaving now so keep up," said the Leader and then his horse trotted away from the two of us. Shirin stared at him sceptically.

"What's getting at him?" she asked. I didn't reply, I was already sensing that she knew how the Leader didn't trust her, and she was probably worried that maybe his distrust would wear off on me. I didn't know her thoughts, but I always got the impression, even when we argued, that she secretly liked the fact that someone finally trusted her and maybe just liked her for her simply being herself. I did trust her, but every second that past that trust was fading as the thoughts that she was related to Dahaka passed through my mind.


	5. Cursed

This is written from several points of view so you need to know that:

Prince – Normal writing

Shirin – Italic

Leader – Bold

Zenda and Sarosh – Bold and italic

Yes I will say sorry from now if you find it confusing .

**Chapter Five: Cursed**

"What is his problem?" asked Shirin. It had been a few days (and long unbearably hot ones at that) since we had left the spot where Shirin and I had woken. She had noticed the Leader constantly peering at her slyly. Shirin hadn't heard the words of the Leader and was unaware of his dislike for her. Then again, the frowns that always came on his darkened angled face proved and stressed his dislike for her. I couldn't say I particularly trusted him with her, I always felt the need to be by her side. Unfortunately, the Leader's lack of fondness for Shirin spread like an uncontrollable fire through the others. No one talked to her, and since I was always with her, few people talked to me. It had quite an effect, I hated it when no one talked to me (I have to admit to you now, I do have a problem of talking to myself when I feel lonely or somewhat fearful). The coldness that the people felt towards us had become quite severe now. I saw people all around me talking and smiling to everyone but Shirin and me. Suddenly a voice made me jump. Someone was now riding beside us, someone I had longed to talk to. It was the mute and her husband. She was wrapped up in white as usual, I could tell she wasn't naturally of a large build though she was heavily pregnant. A lot more of her hair could be seen, it was jet black and quite untidy, maybe she found it hard to tame such a thing so she preferred to hide it. I could see she was a worrier, her nails had been bitten down, this didn't suit her fingers as, like Shirin's, were long and elegant if not somewhat bony. I noticed she didn't wear shoes either, well she did, but they were sandals that were too big for her so they hung away from her heels. Her face was a smooth oval shape, her chin wasn't very pointed and neither was her nose. It wasn't very big but was very straight but curved at the end. She seemed shy, but maybe it was just her eternal silence that made her seem demure. She looked quite tall for a woman, maybe even a little taller than I was. Her eyes were a bright blue, unusual for her black hair. There seemed to be several shades of blue, all harmonising together. The white of her eyes seemed somewhat unnaturally white and pure. Suddenly for some reason, an image of a dove appeared in my head. The dove was innocent, protective and beautiful, this woman had all these aspects. Her husband, who held the reins to the horse, wore black and seemed unaffected from the heat. He looked a lot like me when it came to build but was even taller than his wife was. He had big hands and his nails had grown quite long. He had no covering over his hair, it was shoulder length and was a dark brown. His face was also an oval but he had the beginnings of a black beard on his face to make it more angular-looking. His eyes were a dark grey, almost a black. His nose was big and a bit wide, he looked a few years older than me, so did his wife. It made me wonder what aspects their child would inherit. The man spoke. He would obviously be doing the talking for both of them.

"Hello, my name is Sarosh and this is my wife Zenda. Our leader, Visha, has been talking a lot about you two," he started. Zenda had her arms around his waist for balance.

"Visha? That is his name? Hm, Sarosh and Zenda, if I remember correctly they are Persian name but Visha is an Indian name. Interesting, in these lands you have no qualms about origin. So what has he been saying?" I asked curiously.

"Nothing negative, not about you anyway," Sarosh replied lightly. What he said had quite a meaning, Shirin quickly caught on.

"What about me then?" asked Shirin, quite harshly knowing whatever the outcome it wasn't going to be nice. The Sarosh was hesitant and eventually came up with an excuse.

"We should talk later, we shall be stopping soon, find our tent and then we will talk," he said and made his horse trot forward. I noticed a large dust cloud. The man and everyone around us pulled their coverings across their faces. The Leader had long black hair but this too was covered up. I guessed I would just have to put my head down, Shirin would have to use her bandanna but I didn't see her do anything behind me. She sat annoyed with folded arms, if the Leader had been saying things about her then it probably would annoy her. I knew she didn't like him, maybe it was because he was judging her. The constant judging she got from most people must have been annoying, not even I would be able put up with it.

**_We watched him disappear as we entered the dust cloud, his face fading away. Yet, it stayed firmly in our minds. Our minds that were so close they were practically connected. We knew he was the one. We didn't know much about him, but we already knew his outcome, he was cursed. He would die._**

**I did not feel safe emerged in the cloud. I didn't know where she was. That demon, that creature that the Prince had so happily placed his trust in. What a fool! I did not feel comfortable with her in the camp. My beliefs would not change. She was venal, wretch-ful witch, a rodent; a devious creature. I had to rid this camp of her, I had to rid this world of her...for the safety of everyone, and if the Prince intervened...then he was just as corrupt and evil as she was. He too would have to be ridden of...**

We didn't stop soon. Night had fallen when we did stop and every living thing within the camp felt weary and tired. We found Sarosh and Zenda's tent, they had a blue sheet laid on the ground, both me and Shirin collapsed on it, finally giving ourselves some rest. Zenda was preparing something to eat. Sarosh was sat shaping something out of wood with a short blade.

"So what did Visha say about me?" asked Shirin sitting up. I rested flat on my black looking at the stars. It always made me wonder what it was like beyond them, if there was something beyond them that is.

"You still want to know?" asked Sarosh peering up briefly from the wood. I sat up, he seemed to have been sharpening it into some sort of teardrop shape with a pointed, sharp tip.

"Yes! No one goes around saying things about me, especially mean things!" declared Shirin. Zenda gave us all a bowl of the same meal we had eaten yesterday but this time the rice tasted different. It was delicious nevertheless and I loved her cooking. It was a Indian meal that she had mastered well for a Persian.

"Well I don't really listen to negative things but Visha isn't particularly fond of you," said Sarosh. He finished off his carving. "Maybe you should take this," he said and passed it to Shirin.

"What is it for?" she asked looking at it, she touched the tip but quickly pulled her finger away with a small cry. It was bleeding.

"Are you alright?" I enquired. She turned her head to me and glared at me.

"You think I have never cut myself before?" she glared defensively almost as if I had been trying to mock her.

"Huh?" I murmured quite confused by her reaction.

"Well being a thief is a tough job and I have been cut plenty of times so go back and stick your head in the clouds and think of Farah," she ordered and turned away from me. I never could understand what it was Shirin wanted. Sometimes she acted like she wanted me to worry and care for her, yet when I did she would snap back at me. I think she mentioned Farah to hurt me, she knew that mentioning Farah always caused a weird pain inside of me. Sarosh looked a little upset with himself. He was probably taking the blame for argument.

"I am sorry, I should have warned you it was sharp. I am sure the Prince was only concerned about your well being," said Sarosh comfortingly to Shirin. Shirin shrugged and wrapped the blade in some loose clothes before placing it in a pocket she had made on a fabric belt that was tied around her waist.

"So where are you two from?" I asked as I started eating the food.

"We are from Persia as you guessed. We lived on the outskirts of Persepolis as children. We have known each other for a long time, so long it is almost as if we have a shared mind, that's why a lot of the time I can speak for Zenda. She is a mute as you probably guessed," explained Sarosh.

"Have you always been mute?" I asked. Zenda nodded attentively. I found it hard to remember she was there.

_For the rest of the evening, we didn't talk terribly much about each. The Prince offered to tell them his story about the Sands but they said they had heard of the Sands and knew what they could do. It made me wonder about what else they knew. I really did believe that the woman knew a lot more than she or her husband let on. I hate it when people do that! Anyway, we went back to our tent when everyone was returning to their tents for sleep. The next morning we would have to get up early again. I wasn't too bothered about having to share a tent with the Prince, but we had made a agreement, it had to be head to toe. I couldn't sleep though, it was now the middle of the night but something was niggling away at me. I hadn't stolen anything so I had no reason to feel guilty, I never felt guilty anyway; it was a pointless emotion that was only brought on by yourself. Hm...that Leader, Visha, I really didn't like him at all. He stank as well, I mean, although we were stuck in the middle of the desert he could have washed just a bit. Some people say you turn twisted after losing a love, maybe that is what has happened to Visha, then again, that isn't really true, the Prince is still very spirited though he lost Farah, well, he was gonna get her back soon. I pulled myself up, my hair hid my face. The Prince remained silent in slumber, he looked quite happy unlike he had done a few times before in sleep. I wondered what he was dreaming about, then again, I could guess. I wouldn't wake him, I pulled on my boots and stepped out of the tent. I walked, quietly, through the rows of tents. All around me everyone was asleep. So what kept me awake? It had to be something. I kicked a rock forward, I stopped. I felt somewhat tense, something was not right...but I just could put my finger on it. GASP! What on Earth? Someone had quickly placed their arm tight around my neck! I gasped for the lost but no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't get any oxygen! I couldn't scream no matter how hard I wanted to! Why wasn't the Prince with me? I saw the glint of a scimitar quickly moving up to my neck. Oh God! Did this guy – it was definitely a guy– want to cut my neck too?_

_"Die demon, die," whispered a voice into my ear. It was Visha! I knew I could never trust this guy! I couldn't think of anything else as I began feeling faint and my eyeballs felt pressured and glazed. Then it suddenly hit me! I knew what I could do, I reached into a pocket and removed the tear-shaped blade. I was worried I would drop it but I didn't. You mess with a thief, you get a piece of wood in your thigh. I stabbed him as hard as I could! He keeled in agony – served him right!_

_"Your Majesty!" I screamed as I darted to our tent. He sat up immediately and grabbed his scimitar._

_"What is going on?" he demanded._

_"I'll tell you later but for now we have to get moving. Move already!" I ordered and grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the tent. Good thing he was wearing his boots as he was asleep! I pulled him along but we heard galloping behind us! The Leader had already got a horse and was coming after us._

_"Shirin! What have you stolen now?" demanded the Prince._

_"I haven't stolen anything! He thinks I'm a demon, the madman!" I screamed back at him, why did he always think I was stealing things? Oh wait, because I'm a thief...hm, makes sense._

_"Get us out of here! Teleport somewhere!" he ordered. Good idea! I grabbed him and ran the thoughts of being somewhere else through my head and hoped for the best!_

_We found ourselves in the same empty lands but somewhere else, not in the camp. Phew...we were safe, for a while anyway. We collapsed on the ground beside each other. Our chests rose and fell repeatedly, both us were out of breath, after all, we had just outrun a horse! We shut our eyes and allowed ourselves to calm down._

_"I knew we should have got out of there when he was saying I couldn't trust you," muttered the Prince._

_"Huh?" I asked, what was he talking about? He explained. I frowned and hit him hard. "You should have told me!"_

_"Well...it didn't seem that important at the time...let's just sit here and rest for a bit," muttered the Prince. I opened my eyes and watched the stars. Hm...so what now? We had no horse, no map and no food, we wouldn't last long without these things, but somehow I didn't think this was the end..._

_Sleep called me, I thought it was time to just give in. Huh...I sat up abruptly after I had heard the noise of a galloping horse. The Prince sat up too. It had been a few hours since we had left the camp. It was Zenda and Sarosh with two horses and several baskets, however, they only rode one horse. The Prince quickly got to his feet and held his sword in attack stance._

_"Did Visha send you?" he demanded. Zenda removed herself from the horse._

_"No Prince, we need to tell you something. Your Majesty, you have been sentenced by fate a terrible punishment. This has fallen on you because of what you did. We know this Prince, we could see it the moment we first saw you. We are visionaries and have seen things of what are to come. Before what is to come comes to you, please find your love Farah, take this map, this horse and food and go to Amber," said Sarosh. Visionaries...it made me wonder what they had seen but what Zenda did next explained it. She kissed the Prince of the forehead, the kiss of death, he was going to die, and now these people were telling us to find Farah. If they had seen things...then they knew if it was something we had to do. It was. Zenda passed the Prince a map and then returned to Sarosh._

_"You weren't sent by Visha. You were sent by fate..." murmured the Prince. Maybe that was true. Maybe it had been destiny for Sarosh and Zenda to meet the Prince and to warn him of his cursed death. They untied a black horse that was by their side, and then they just...left. They turned away and left. I watched the Prince watch the two ride away._

She was smiling at me out of pity, out of sorrow, because she knew what was going to happen to me. Dahaka definitely wanted me dead, they had predicted it, so did that mean I had no choice but not to trust Shirin? I didn't know, but one thing was for sure: I had to find Farah, this possibly could be the last chance, before Dahaka caught up with me.

Okay I know that it is suppose to be an old man that tells the Prince, but this way is a bit more interesting. Now he can get on and get to Amber


	6. Closer

_This is only a short chapter about how Shirin and the Prince are bonding. _

**Chapter Six: Closer**

When you want something you try your best to get it, and sometimes it isn't that big a matter if you don't get it. But when you need something you will push yourself to all extents to get it. You will do everything and anything to get what you need, and then you do get it. This situation had now turned from something that I wanted to do to something I needed to do. I couldn't fail now. If I was to die, then I had to see and make Farah remember beforehand. I had probably halved the number of days it would have normally taken to get to Amber, because I was pushing myself to go faster, I intended to get there quickly. The given horse galloped across the empty at the same speed that my heart was beating. But we now pulled to a stop on the slopes that were positioned just outside of the city of Amber. The magnificent palace, or fort as it was sometimes called, was now in my sights. I had to now enter the city. But how could I get in without being realised as a Persian?

"Ugh...can I be sick now?" groaned Shirin. She got off the horse unsteadily. I could tell by the blear in her eyes that things in her vision were still swirling and being multiplied by two. She looked at me. "Hey Princes," she started as she saw two of me in her dizzy vision "What are we...ugh...going to do now?" she asked, hugging her stomach.

"Well first," I replied, "everything we have here has to be accounted for by those guards there so they know we have entered the city and what things we are carrying." I pointed over to a number of patrolling Indian guards by some large stone gates that went around the city. I was too busy watching the guards to notice Shirin retching out of the corner of my eye. I only noticed her when she began kneeling, her head touching the ground, reciting what seemed to be a poem. Some of it was muffled but I could hear most of it.

"Sand swirling, sand whirling. In my eyes I see all. The greatest nations that will fall. Sand swirling, sand whirling. No King. No Queen. Just empty time and the swirling sand, that is that will be seen,"

I wasn't even sure if it was a poem, but whatever it was, I didn't like it.

"What is that?" I asked.

"Just something I know," she groaned, not looking at me. But I questioned her further.

"Well what is it about?" I asked, but she looked up at me with a harsh frown.

"You bloody well released them if that is any help!" she snarled back at me, placing her head back on the ground. That was why I didn't like the poem; it was about the sands and how they could destroy everything. I could see Shirin didn't feel well at all. Her face had lost its colour, her eyes were heavily glazed and sorrowful and she seemed to snap at me at any chance. I dismounted the horse and knelt beside her. I put a comforting arm round her.

"I want to go home," she sobbed suddenly. I didn't even know she was crying. I had expected her to get angry with me for trying to be kind to her.

"What? Back to Persepolis?" I asked. I didn't quite understand what she had said. Where was home for a thief?

She shook her head. "No that isn't home...I remember this place. Um, it was bright, it was...I don't know where it was but it was surrounded by sea...and it was almost like a palace but it wasn't, it was more like a religious place, like a temple or something. And I wasn't a kid; I was the age I am now, if that makes sense to you. I still see the place now in my dreams. I am walking through a corridor and...and I am wearing a pretty yellow dress, which is silly because I don't wear dresses. Then I go into this big room, where I can see the sky. The sky is going dark and then there is this person, I never see the person's face, I don't even know if it is a man or a woman. It is like everything around me is rotting and getting old and changing. Everything is becoming darker and I am scared. Then the person sees me and begins to run after me. I am trying to get away but then I fall because I have been shot or stabbed or something, I turn round to look at the person and although I can't see who it is. I know they are smiling." She stopped as tears ran down her face and made it hard to talk. She swallowed and sniffed. She spoke softly and slowly now so that she was more coherent. "Then I close my eyes and everything shatters, like a mirror being smashed. I see a woman walking. She's pregnant and has a yellowish aura. I don't know who she is; she looks a bit like me and I think she is my mother – I mean, she looks like me and the aura and everything – it all signifies something to do with me, I'm sure it does...then I wake up." She swallowed again and looked at my face. "Do you think that's silly?"

"No, but why would you want to go back to this place if you were shot or stabbed there?" I asked. What she said didn't make sense to me. It was like me saying that I wanted to go back to the sand-infested palace.

She shrugged. "It was nice there, when it is all bright and pretty. I am not sure if it is an actual memory or just a dream, but it always feels so real when I dream about it," she murmured. Her tears continued to fall. I couldn't ever remember seeing her cry. It was odd; she never appeared the type of person to cry or to act so sorrowfully, she acted so youthful usually and thought in such a happy child-like way.

"Everything will be alright," I said, I couldn't help but find this a weak thing to say. It was something everybody said, and had it no real meaning anymore. I had to back it up. But it was one of those moments where your mind just went blank. You couldn't think of anything else to say but to just repeat what you had already said. However, although I felt I was being pretty lousy at comforting her, she was quite appreciative. A large but soft smile spread across her face.

"I don't think I have ever had a proper friend," she mumbled. I could barely hear her words, but I understood them. There were many reasons why no one would probably want to be close to Shirin, one being her abnormalities. If she was related to Dahaka, then it wasn't her fault. No one could choose his or her family. I knew she would never obey any of Dahaka's commands. I sat here, with her now and we both completely trusted each other. We both knew we were weak; I hated never being with Farah and Shirin hated the lack of understanding about herself. Because of this, our friendship was getting stronger. Eventually I would get what I wanted...what were the chances that Shirin would? But for now, for this one precise point in time, that didn't matter.


	7. Amber

**Chapter Seven: Amber**

It must have been a while since we had said anything. We had just been sitting in the same spot for at least an hour. However, it was a nice peaceful hour. I had never really stopped to collect my thoughts properly and now I had that chance – though it couldn't be too long as we would have to be leaving this beautiful view of Amber behind to actually enter the city soon. I thought about Farah, wondering briefly about her reaction to me reappearing. It must have been odd for her that night and early morning, to just have some strange Persian enter your room, tell you a fairytale-like story, kill a vizier and then just say bye without mentioning his actual name. I nudged Shirin and asked her how she would react. She pondered over this and quickly a large smile emerged on her face, which had now returned to its ordinary colour and her eyes were now a lively green.

"If _you _came into my room?" she grinned cheekily. I found myself blushing terribly.

"Shirin!" I cried, but it was accompanied with a smile. My sights turned to the city. "Why don't we try teleporting in there?"

"I can't, not with a whole horse," said Shirin shaking her head. "I can only teleport two people at the most, and even then it is difficult,"

"Hm, well, how about we pass as merchants returning home. That would mean we would need Indian name...I don't know many Indian names," I murmured as I thought about my new identity.

"I know some. Well let me think...do you ever consider yourself a wanderer?" asked Shirin. I shrugged. To go and do something by myself was something I did long to do. For a long time, I felt like I had to just go and find out who I was. However, that was an adventure for another time. "Well you are now. You are Cheveme and like your name suggests, you go where the wind blows. Me, I'll be Dipesh," said Shirin.

"What does Dipesh mean?" I asked.

"Lamp of God, I think. Well maybe it doesn't suit me but still..." She was silent for a while. Maybe she liked the name because of its meaning; it sounded like the sort of meaning that would be given to someone that was important and wanted. Shirin wanted to be wanted; she wanted people to care about her.

"The only problem that I see now is the fact that we don't really look like merchants or Indians for that matter," I said, I got to my feet and looked around in one of the baskets we had brought with us.

"I can see another problem..." murmured Shirin.

"Really? What knot do you see that you cannot untie?" I asked – slightly muffled because my head was delving further into the basket...I never realised it had such depth.

"That's the problem," she replied. A sudden heat came over my ear and pain quickly hit me.

"OW!" I screamed immediately and quickly withdrew my head from the basket clutching my left ear. Shirin hopped to her feet instantly and was immediately examining my ear.

"Oh it's only a small cut," she said, however, the amount of blood that was running on her hand and on the side of my face didn't suggest this. I looked back in the basket to see what I had cut myself on. I removed a long sword, a scimitar with a very jagged serrated edge. It was dark greyish silver and appeared reasonably old. There was another one inside the basket, it looked near enough the same but the edge wasn't so jagged. On the blade, it seemed to have flames and swirls exhaled from some sort of bird, which was the hilt to the sword. "Sarosh probably put those in for you. I guess he wants you to become ambidextrous," murmured Shirin. She was standing akimbo beside me.

"Well it would have been nice if he had warned me before I almost sliced my ear off," I moaned. It would be all right as soon as it stopped bleeding. Shirin delved carefully into the basket and withdrew a dark brownish hooded cloak. It had gotten ripped in the basket.

"I hoped Zenda packed something to fix this up with, you can wear it, that way they won't see your Persian armour," she said. I sat on the ground as she continued to look around in the baskets.

"So what is the problem?" I asked, referring to what she had said before.

"Huh...oh it's the way you speak, I mean, you speak so poshly," she said and removed some thread and a needle from the bottom of the basket. She sat down beside me. "I understand that is the way you have been brought up, but try speaking like me," she explained and began restoring the cloak using a cross-stitch.

"Hm. This is going to take a while isn't it?" I murmured. Shirin smiled.

"Look at the sky," she ordered.

"Huh. Okay, I'm looking," I replied and looked at the blue sky.

"What do you see?" she asked. I shrugged.

"Blue, white clouds," I observed.

"Are all the clouds a perfect white?" she asked. I shook my head.

"No," I said.

"That's what it is like being a commoner, you aren't perfect and then you have the sky, the perfect blue sky. The sky is the royalty, perfect. The sky, when you think about it is a little bit pompous, being everywhere. But the clouds, they drift, do you understand?" she tried to explain. I wasn't sure if I understood this or not. "You may be royalty and think you are perfect; but the only thing perfect is in is imperfection,"

"So...are you saying no one is perfect...that in a way, everyone is a commoner?" I asked. She smiled without looking at me.

"If that is how you interpret it then maybe that is what it means," she murmured. She had completely lost me now.

"Shirin, what the heck are you talking about?" I asked. She jumped up with a giant grin and pointed at me.

"That's how you have to talk!" she cried.

"What?" I asked. She was practically jumping on the spot now with delight at my change of voice; it must have been her speech wearing off on me.

"See! You can speak like a commoner as long as you are confused!" she grinned. She took the cape and wrapped it round me and fastened it with a brooch that had a purple stone in it. "Okay, so we don't have the merchandise to pass as merchants, but you have two swords! You can pass as a wandering warrior, me, well, I'll just be your wife then," shrugged Shirin. I leapt to my feet.

"Uh-uh! No way! I am not letting you pretend to be my wife!" I cried. Shirin mounted the horse and raised an eyebrow. I didn't care, she wouldn't pretend to be my wife!

"Names?" asked the guard. Why couldn't I ever get my own way with Shirin? Actually, no, it didn't just apply to Shirin; it applied to the whole female-half race! In an accentless voice, I gave him the names we had chosen to be our false identities and how we were related. The guard stood with his double-bladed staff, noting our names. He was reasonably short, in battle that probably had its advantages. He wasn't fat though; although he was short he was slim and had very big hands. His nose was slightly upturned and his eyes were dark hazel. His hair was all tucked away under a turban but I could see a few wisps of black hair from the back, also he had thin black eyebrows and the beginnings of a beard. My face, according to Shirin, wasn't seen much - just my left eye that appeared almost bluish in the right light, some of my nose and lips. The guard began to note down all our possessions. I never realised how quiet Shirin could be when she wanted to be, not just in sound but in the way she looked. Her face was usually quite lively, her hair kept back from her face with her bandanna, but now her face was covered a lot by her hair and her eyes seemed a lot darker. I wondered about what she was thinking. Maybe she was thinking about that place...where was it? Why would someone stab or shoot her? Why would they be happy about it? How could she be the same age as she is now then? Questions always had answers, otherwise they wouldn't be questions, but sometimes they weren't always answered. The guard finished checking all our items and gestured that we could enter the city. I made our horse advance, joining the crowd of other travellers that were entering the city.

"So now that we are in Amber, where are we going first?" Shirin whispered; maybe she found it hard to hide her Persian accent so she decided to talk in a hush voice. It was still reasonably early morning; we had been travelling for several days straight.

"We'll find a inn, rest up for a while and then get acquainted with the city," I replied. Shirin yawned.

"Yeah, that is a good idea," she agreed. The journey and everything we had gone through must have taken its toll and her, and yet, she stayed with me, I had expected her to have told me to...well you can probably guess what I expected her to say to me by now, and if you can't, it would consist of several bad profanities and the word 'you' would be at the end. I saw the palace now, towering over the rooftops of Amber. It would take me a while to think up a way of getting in there never mind finding Farah and trying to persuade her to come with me. Maybe I was going to have to kidnap her like Shirin had suggested. Then there was the other problem of the journey north of India, I wasn't so worried for not so much Shirin or myself but I was worried about Farah. She hadn't remembered the day when the sands were in control and how we had had to fight to get things back to normal. That Farah, the one I knew, was a lot stronger than the one I was going to have to kidnap.

We eventually found an inn: a small, drab, sullied, building with only a few rooms and a short fat inn keeper who wasn't pleased with anything. He seemed to take a particular dislike to me (but only because I had got annoyed that he was leering at Shirin) so our room was very small; the walls were lined with stemming cracks and floors creaked with every step taken (even the light ones made by Shirin). In our room was a small rug that was so worn it had a large hole in it, it had once been a rich red but was now a dull tertiary colour. The two low beds in our room were lumpy, with a stifling stench to them. However, that didn't bother Shirin too much; I called her name several times only to find out that she had fallen asleep as soon her head had hit the pillow. I stood at the window, it was midday now and the streets emptied as people went home to rest through the hottest part of the day. I looked at the palace...I wondered; was Farah looking out a window now? If she was, could she see the inn? If so, could she see me?


	8. Love, Kakolukia

**Chapter Eight: Love, Kakolukia. **

"Ah...this is the life," Shirin grimaced shutting her eyes. She had tied her hair back tightly in a bun and was dressed in a white binding that went from under her arms to just below her knees. She had suggested that we come here, I never thought a thief would make such a big deal about hygiene. Well, I had to say I was glad she made a big deal about it and to be honest, I was glad we were here because it was very relaxing with the fragrance of incense and the soothing feel of the water. We were at some public baths; we hadn't anything else to do. Neither of us felt ready to form a plan; I wasn't sure if I wanted to put it off or not, yes I wanted to see Farah, but chances were, the moment I did see her people, and by that I mean guards, would be after me. One of Shirin's eyes opened and looked at my face, it was in deep thought. "Quit thinking! You only have one chance at life, why spend most of it thinking and being stressed?" she asked.

"Life must be really easy for you," I murmured. Shirin closed her eyes, her hands behind her head.

"Why do you say that?" she asked.

"You have no real rules...you can dress how you want, say what you want, do what you want," I murmured.

"Hm, and you don't?" she asked.

"No, not really, not at home anyway," I murmured, I sighed, "So where should we go next? There is still quite a few hours of daylight left?" I asked. Shirin opened her eyes now but they were following someone across the room, quite a handsome man. Many people of both genders used the baths; we were sat in a shallow square indent, the room was very much like the baths at Azad, just the ceiling was had a flew windows in it so parts of the blue sky could be seen. "Dipesh!" I called. She jumped and looked at me.

"What?" she asked. I raised an eyebrow sceptically. "Hey I'm seventeen what do you expect?" she asked shrugging.

"Well where should we go next?" I asked. A giant grin moved across her face.

"The marketplace," she grinned. The thoughts of what a thief would do in a marketplace ran through my head. You could probably guess what I wanted to say to her suggestion, but I held my tongue and came out with something more...refined.

"Uh, I am not so sure about that," I mumbled.

"You will be when you see what is there," she smiled and stood out of the shallow water.

"What does that mean?" I asked watching her.

"You'll see," she smiled and began walking away.

"What? D-Dipesh! What are you talking about?" I asked. Why did she never explain what she meant to me? I quickly hopped to my feet and followed her.

"So what are we here for?" I asked, it was hard keeping up with Shirin because she moved so quickly. She was quite thin, with a small waist and hips; she barely had any real fat on her, but oddly enough, she always ate like there was no tomorrow, well with the way Dahaka didn't like me, maybe there wasn't going to be a tomorrow. We were in the marketplace now; the hustle and bustle was in full swing. We had bought Indian clothes (I, however, still wore my cloak) and Shirin was wearing a deep red sari...I had to admit, she looked quite radiant. Shirin was slightly distracted by a stall with many pieces of jewellery, all gleaming in the daylight, but she managed to peel her attention away from it.

"Guess, who do you think is the guest at the marketplace is today," she smiled. I shrugged. "Well here's some help. You really fancy her!" grinned Shirin. I jumped, I couldn't mention Farah's name just in case someone overheard and got some ideas and reported me to the guards of the Raja or Maharajah.

"Are you sure? How do you know?" I asked.

"D'uh! Why do you think so many people are here? I do hear stuff! Anyway, she is coming with her father, only her, none of her brothers or sisters. So that means a lot of attention will be placed on her, you won't get a moment alone with her, maybe you should write a letter or something and give it to her discreetly. You write it...I'll be over there," said Shirin drifting off as she darted over to the jewellery stall. She knew she could only look, she couldn't take. I knew she was trying hard not to take anything. I couldn't believe it, soon I would see Farah again! Would she recognise my face? It had only been a few months after all.

Shirin came back to me after a while. I looked at her briefly, removing my eyes from the letter I had composed, she didn't seem to have stolen anything.

"Do you want to have a look at it?" I asked. She nodded and took the letter off me before I could pass it to her. She was like that, I don't think she lacked manners, she was just very eager to know things. I watched her eyes move as she read. Her face didn't really show much emotion, it rarely did unless the emotion was quite extreme like sadness. I hated seeing her sad because her face would make me sad, not many people could do that.

"Uh...I think this is too long," she murmured after finishing it, she had read a page so far. Maybe it was best that I didn't warn her that she also had to read the other side.

"How can I shorten it down then? It isn't just simple, I really I'm pouring my heart out here," I tried to explain. She took another piece of paper from a nearby stall and wrote a second version with a pen that had recently been dipped in ink – the pen also was from a stall.

_Dear Farah. _

_Take the Dagger of Time and your bow and arrows, and go to the gardens that are right of the entrance to the fort – go tomorrow when night has fallen and wait. _

_Love_

She left the part where my name should have gone blank. She stopped, obviously thinking. Her eyes always seem to glaze when she was thinking, it always made me think that maybe her mind had barricaded itself in a cocoon inside of her, and left the body dormant and asleep. She looked at me with her perplex face.

"How can I sum this up in one word that doesn't begin with 'P'?" she asked.

"Sum what up?" I asked, peering at the letter.

"She needs to know who you are without anybody else really knowing, if someone finds it with the 'P' word on it then who knows what they might start thinking. Wait, what was that word, the word you were told by you-know-who?" asked Shirin. She was saying things like you-know-who hoping no one would suspect anything, if I was to be honest, I would get interested if she was saying this stuff and I was just a passing stranger.

"Kakolukia?" I murmured quietly. She pushed the pen and paper in my hands.

"You write it," she said turning round. I wrote the words leaning the paper on her back so it wouldn't smear. I looked at it and read through it twice.

"What have you been planning?" I asked. She smiled. It was one of those 'I'll tell you later' smiles – a smile that was unique to Shirin. It wasn't a smile that particularly annoyed me, but sometimes it did make me feel weak when I wasn't fully informed with everything. She took the paper and began folding it up tightly. "What are you doing?" I asked. She finished folding it and then removed something from her neck. A silver locket in the shape of a rhombus with a small red ruby in the centre. It looked a little bit old. I rolled my eyes with my immediate thoughts. "Shirin! You didn't take it did you?" I asked. She couldn't have given up now, not when she had been trying so hard.

"What do you take me for? A thief?" she asked with a smile, she opened the locket and placed the letter in it.

"A rather good-looking one, yes," I said, I started to doubt the idea of her stealing the locket. She wouldn't be smiling so much if she had.

"Aw so sweet, I bought it," She replied. Shirin had stolen some money (it was gold, so it could be used just about anywhere) from my palace when she was robbing it, it was actually from _my _room, she had kept it on her so the desert thieves hadn't taken it. However, there wasn't much of it.

"Shirin, we need that to pay the inn keeper," I told her. I didn't appreciate the idea of her just throwing our money away on jewellery.

"I've asked that leering sickco to put it on my tab," she explained, she was holding the locket, she didn't seem to want to put it back on her neck.

"Well how exactly do you plan to pay that tab?" I asked. She came up close to me and whispered in my ear.

"Well, we're not going to, tomorrow night, you travel to the north of the city and wait on the outskirts, me, I'll pick up Farah and take her to where you are waiting. You call it a moonlight flit, surely you can be dishonest?" she smiled. Did this girl ever think of doing anything legal? Nevertheless, maybe that was what I liked about her, she was 'resourceful'. I couldn't ever imagine Shirin as anything else other than a thief...of course, by that; I meant her version of being a 'thief'. Thieves always struck me as cold, distant people; this was something Shirin was exactly the opposite of. There was something about Shirin that really did mystify and that was her ability to be so optimistic, even though she had the curse of possibly being related to Dahaka and was pretty much an outcast of society because she was a thief she remained bright and smiling.

"Okay...so what is the locket for then?" I asked.

"You will be only able to get near Farah if you have a gift for her, so this is the gift," Shirin whispered back.

"But what happens if she doesn't open it?" I asked, I wasn't intentionally trying to think of all the negative things that could happen.

"Well that's why I'm giving her all tonight and most of tomorrow to open it!" whispered Shirin; she backed away now. "Should I give it to her or do you want to?"

"Uh..." I started, I wasn't really sure if I did want to give her the locket, she could recognise me, and although this was something I did want her to do, if she ordered guards to take me to the palace, then Shirin's plan would be out of the window. It would be best if Shirin gave it to her. "You do it," I ordered. Shirin shrugged. So now, it was only a matter of time...straight flowing time that is.

I waited. I just longed to see Farah, it had been at least an hour now; the minutes seemed like hours themselves. I looked at the sun, teasing me as it barely moved in the sky, the same way Farah was now teasing me, but both didn't realise this. The excitement was growing among the crowds but I didn't take in any of the words they said; I didn't even listen to Shirin. Shirin suddenly jabbed me hard in the shoulder, it wasn't because she was annoyed with me; she wanted to make me look in her direction. I hadn't realised how silence had fallen over the crowds of people. My heart missed a beat. It was Farah. She was a princess so obviously riding on a horse was out of the question; she sat, rather artificially with a extremely straightened back, on a platform with a canopy that housed her away from any bad weather. It was her, it was Farah! I couldn't really believe it, it must have been a dream, anything but reality! I kept on thinking this...however, I knew down it was reality and loved every second I saw her, the happiness inside of me, a sweet feeling within my stomach. I wanted to call her name, I wanted to go up to her, I wanted to embrace her, none of which I could do for she would take me for a insane stalker or something and have me immediately dealt with. She hadn't changed much, she remained slender and a dark colour that came with the Indian sun. She seemed a little bit taller now, and her jet-black hair had must have grown a little as her plait was longer, but not much. She looked the same as she had done the day I had met her except for those changes, she wore the same red top and skirt and had the same strand of black hair by her face and then there was the medallion, still worn round her neck. I looked at her dark eyes, and realised that once again, they were looking at me like they had done when we were travelling to Azad. Shirin dragged me down to bow, everybody had to bow, Farah and her father were royalty after all! Her father, a man who shared little likeness to Farah, rode on a large but young brown stallion, you could tell it was a male horse; it had the same attitude as its rider. The Maharajah seemed somewhat vain and full of himself, it could be told by the way her stuck his stubby nose up in the air, I very much doubted that he actually liked being among the common folk of Amber. He was a tall man with a chin that appeared more sharp than pointed. His eyes weren't brown like Farah's but a grey that was far from dull; they seemed quite powerful and commanding and for some reason, caused fear within me. At the sides of the Maharajah, were the elite guards, the best with their sharpened weapons, dark stares and eyes that seemed as sharp as there blades. Farah continued to stare at me with a penetrating stare, she was trying to work out who I was, and in my mind, I was pleading that she would soon realise before I disappeared from her view. She didn't seem to recognise me...it hurt me, but only temporarily.

As soon as the platform was set down, I, along with many others, leapt to my feet. She and her father were, almost immediately confronted by people, offering gifts and hoping to have a few words with the royalty. I very much doubted Shirin would be able to get to her, she could see this in my eyes that were fixated on Farah. She smiled and knew how to get to Farah. She entered the crowd confidently.

"'Scuse me, outta the way, watch your head, ooh nice bracelet – wouldn't be too attached to that would you? Coming through, make way!" she cried as she pushed her small self through the crowds, I never realised that she was quite small at a mere five foot one. She pushed a man who was about to greet the princess out of the way with a sharp shove of the elbow. "Hi, you're the princess right? It's a real honour to meet you!" smiled Shirin and she curtsied quickly. I watched from the sidelines, only barely able to see her through the crowd. Farah looked somewhat...taken back by the flamboyant little, skinny woman that stood in front of her.

"Uh, yes, pleased to meet you too," Farah managed to say; she still spoke the same way as she had done when I had met her.

"I would like to give you this locket, as a gift," said Shirin and pushed the locket into Farah's hands. Farah looked at it.

"Um, thank you," she smiled, it was nice to see her smile, I just wish it had been at me. She seemed quite nice, I liked her this way, when I had first met her, she had hated me, she had all right to, but right now she completely hate and bitter-less. She looked at Shirin. "Weren't you the one with that man, the one with green eyes?" she asked. My heart jumped! She had noticed me! She must have wanted to know who I was...otherwise, she wouldn't ask. However, Shirin knew she couldn't give my identity away.

"There are quite a few green-eyed men here, I honestly couldn't tell you who they all are," shrugged Shirin, she was covering up her accent well. She gave one final smile and then removed herself from the queue. I managed to join back up with her, out of Farah's view.

"Do you think she will open it?" I asked almost immediately.

"Hey, she isn't going to forget me anytime soon, nor you, she really did seem to want to know who you were," smiled Shirin. I wanted to smile, but I just couldn't. What if she didn't read the note? All the possible negative things that could happen ran through my mind. Maybe I just thought what was happening was just too good to be true...

When we returned to the inn, the horrid little innkeeper had a surprise in stall for us. He had changed our two-bed room to a one-bed one. I felt like he knew, with his smarmy leery grin, that Shirin and I weren't really married but he just wanted to make things as bad and as difficult for us as possible. We sat on the bed that we would have to share. The room resembled the same one we were in before just this one had a family of mice in the corner and a dust lining the wall.

"I want the left side," said Shirin. I looked at her; she was being serious.

"Why? Would it have anything to do with being right next to the door?" I asked, I knew she wasn't pleased with the idea of sharing.

"No, I'm left handed aren't I," she defended. She was? I had never noticed. I pointed this out to her. "Well you've never seen me write have you?" she murmured. This was true and I had never really paid attention to which hand she used to eat with. There were a lot of things I didn't really know about Shirin...


	9. Bare

**Chapter Nine: Bare**

The night air blew gently; the room was black, like the star-less night sky. I could see, from where I lay that the moon hung in the sky, so carefree, unlike me. The rooftops of Amber, lit by her light. I rolled my head away from the window so it faced the ceiling. I looked at the cracks that resembled the roots of a tree. So many different paths...like life, it was a shame, that we only learnt when we had taken the wrong one when it was too late. Was unleashing the Sands a wrong path? I had killed so many people yet through that I had learnt that I had loved someone...and then she was taken away. I turned my head to my right. I saw two wide green eyes blink at me.

"Are you watching me?" I asked through the darkness.

"Uh-uh," blinked the eyes and I saw the outline of Shirin's head shake slowly, she was curled up tightly in a ball.

"Were you thinking?" I asked.

"Uh-huh," the eyes blinked with the outline of the head nodding.

"What about?" I asked, I knew, from the sound of the movement of our cover, that she was shrugging. I turned my head back to the ceiling. "What path did you take?" I asked. She looked at the ceiling.

"The one without the proper directions and the one where you can't turn back," murmured Shirin, the cover was brought right up to under her nose.

"That sounds a little bit bleak for you," I murmured. There was silence except for the wind outside that swept through the deserted streets. Shirin's voice interrupted the silence.

"They never liked me..." she murmured. I turned my head to look at her; she remained looking at the ceiling.

"Who are you talking about?" I asked. It was the dead of night, so I wasn't sure why we were talking.

"The warriors, but they couldn't just kill me," she murmured. She was silent again, this time it was I who broke the silence.

"When I first met you, you weren't really being yourself were you?" I asked remembering the time I had spent with her in the library. She was quiet then and had tamed her lively personality...but with time, when we were in the desert, she had emerged from her shell to show what she was truly like.

"Sometimes people find my actual personality annoying...I thought if I acted so quietly and tried to speak really well then you would want to be my friend and would want to help me. Of course, you probably guessed that I wasn't really educated, not with the way I could barely read anything," she murmured in reply. She was still looking at the ceiling, blinking occasionally.

"You don't have many friends I take it then," I said. She shook her head.

"A lot of the time, I have to change who I really I'm to be liked...I don't like doing that because I loose the real me," she murmured. "You're really are lucky...you have friends and family that care for you and love you. I wish some cared and loved me," she murmured so apathetically. She finally admitted it. I knew that what she had said was something she really did truly mean. I had never seen her like this...she had been open with me plenty of times before but this time I knew she had just left her soul and true emotions bare and defenceless. She had hid herself from the truth and had hid everyone else from it, but she couldn't hide what she really wanted anymore. Did she really feel so unloved, rejected and neglected? Maybe she had got so used to this feeling that she was blind to my emotions for her.

"I love you as a friend and I do care for you," I said through the darkness. I saw something in her eyes...a slight feeling of not being able to understand the words. Disbelief almost, they had never been said to her before.

"You do?" she murmured. I nodded, she sensed I was nodding. "Why?" she asked, quite baffled. She honestly hadn't been expecting me to say such a thing. "Is it because I am helping you make Farah remember?"

"No, and it isn't sympathy because of your unknown past either. I like the fact that you are optimistic and uplifting, if I had done this by myself, then it is likely I would be really depressing right now," I said. I looked at her. I could see a smile growing and he eyes becoming soft.

"Thanks," she murmured quietly. I wasn't sure how I felt now; did I feel closer to Shirin? On the other hand, did I feel somewhat worried now, because the last time I had loved and cared for someone and had let them know this, they betrayed me? "You're the first person who has ever said anything nice to me," she murmured. I looked at her, I assumed what she said wasn't true, just some sort of thing she was saying to me to make me feel good. However, I could see in her green eyes, that what she said was true. I did trust her, she trusted me; I was the first person she had ever trusted.


	10. A trap I can't fall in

_If anyone is wondering, the remedy used in this chapter is real! _

**Chapter Ten: A trap I can't fall in**

As my eyes fluttered open, I had no understanding of where I was, what I had to do, or anything else for that matter. But then I suddenly recalled everything and sat up immediately. Shirin was already awake, bright and lively as always, she was trying to pin her sari's scarf to her shoulder, but failed to do this and was jabbing herself several times. I knew, by tonight, I would be reunited with Farah, and the absolute happiness and excitement I felt from this concept surged through me...but so did something else. Icy shivers shot down my spine and darted across my body. I crouched up slowly in a ball and pulled the covers over me as I trembled and quivered with the freezing sensation that came over me. Next, rawness was felt in my throat, like some sort of raven had clawed away at it all through the night. I felt stuffy and blocked up. All of these feelings toppled upon each other. I couldn't face the outside world; I couldn't face anyone.

"Don't go back to sleep! It's ages past sun rise, we should have woken ages ago!" I heard Shirin cry. I saw her appear, with a sandy golden glow in front of me. She knelt to my height, she suddenly saw my face and her smile quickly faded and was replaced with a face of concern. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"No, it's too cold..." I shuddered. Shirin placed her palm on my forehead and then my cheeks; she frowned.

"What do you mean? You're hotter than the desert at noon, and I'm not talking about looks!" Shirin frowned.

"But you could count looks too right?" I managed to smile. If Shirin was going to be the bleak one, then I might as well be the optimistic one.

"I am being serious, you really are ill. I'm going to find someone who knows Ayurvedic and that kinda stuff, you stay here and rest," ordered Shirin, she left the room. I moved so I was lying on my back, uh, of all days for me to be ill, it had to be this one. I obviously wasn't in fate's good books...not that I ever would be...

I must have fallen asleep without me actually realising; it should have been obvious that I was falling asleep with my eyelids becoming heavy and my thoughts becoming less and less focused. But in the state I was in, I was aware of very little. But I was suddenly awoken, feeling very shaken, as Shirin entered the room. I saw her drop some things at the end of the bed, but I was still very tired and couldn't really find the strength to sit up and look, in fact, I was on the verge of falling asleep again as my head rested back on the pillow. I heard Shirin fussing over some things and mixing something together. I then heard her footsteps come right next to me. She wouldn't wake me if I was in slumber. Would she? Well...this is Shirin we are talking about! I suddenly felt her ram a spoon into my mouth and was confronted with a sweet but quite sickly taste. I forced myself to swallow whatever it was that was in my mouth. I saw she had a small bowl of golden honey mixed with something else. The sweetness managed to bring tears to my eyes. Shirin got another scoop on the spoon; there wasn't much left.

"What is that?" I asked, the taste (and a lot of the mixture) still pasted to the roof of my mouth and tongue.

"Honey and curcumin, s'pose to work for colds and coughs – that sort of thing, you have to eat it all and then you will feel better in no time," she said waving the spoon about so some of the mixture splattered on my face. She rammed the second spoon full into my mouth; I swallowed shutting my eyes tightly.

"Uh...Shirin, don't have children..." I groaned. She passed me a glass of water. I drank nearly all of it, gulping it down trying to wash away the taste. I wiped away any of the water that had ran down face. Hm, I found my beard was growing a bit, I would have to clean and groom myself today; I had to look neat. I never thought I would say that, it was only...wow, it was a month ago, since that night in the palace when I thinking about how annoying it was always having to look my best. Shirin brought me out of thought with the clicking of her fingers in front of my face.

"Listen, I am going out to get us some food, there might be another city on the way to these mountains but I am going to get us loads anyway and an extra horse. Plus I'll need to get us another map, Zenda and Sarosh's map didn't have the mountain range on it," said Shirin, she stood, taking some money from a wooden draw at her side of the bed.

"Shirin, what is this mountain range called?" I asked, my head following her. She stopped at the door thinking.

"Um, begins with H...uh, Him-something. I can't remember right now but I will eventually. Anyway, I'll see you later," she said and rushed out of the room. I lay my head back down, I hoped the mountain range wouldn't have too bad a weather, though that should have been the last thing on my mind...

I woke up later, I felt better. I went to the baths and tidied myself up and later met up again with Shirin at the market place. She had another horse with her, a brown old male that had had better days, it moved slowly and in an inebriate fashion.

"He was the last one and the only one I could afford, I'm not much of a haggler...mainly because taking appeals more to me than buying at a fair price," she explained holding onto the worn reins. The horse looked like it would collapse at any second but then again; Shirin had completely loaded it down with new supplies. The horse gave a low, almost painful-sounding brae. "We'll split the load between the two horses. Remember to take them to the north, I think there are some slopes there, wait there for me. I'll be teleporting there with...well you know who. I hope she won't put up a fuss," said Shirin, she peered at the old horse and then at me.

"So...when should I leave? I asked, Shirin had looked quite bright this morning, yet now, she looked slightly...down, maybe she wasn't happy about Farah joining us, but why on Earth would she be feeling like that?

"Go when the sun is just setting, leave from the marketplace, it should be quiet then. I'll go with you and then after the sun has set, I'll go to pick her up," said Shirin, she seemed to have sorted this all out very well and was calm about it. That was the exactly the opposite of how I was feeling. I was tense yet excited; I just somehow felt that the plan wouldn't work even though it seemed pretty perfect. I was worried for Shirin. She was going to go alone in the palace to meet someone who she didn't really know much about. What would she do if some guards came along? Sure, she could punch (and quite hard as I had experienced) but if there was a big group of guards then she would be defenseless. I felt a fool for allowing her to go into this, it should have been me, it was I who loved Farah, this was my mission...but so far Shirin had managed to protect herself, and it would be stupid now to say that I wanted to go and get Farah; for starters, I would have to work out a new way to get in the palace. I looked at Shirin's face, why did she seem so upset? She looked up and saw my face and suddenly smiled, but it wasn't her true smile, the one that I was longing to see. Not just because it was a pretty smile, but also because it was such an uplifting smile. "Hey! Smile! You're going to see her tonight aren't you, if I was going to see someone I loved but rarely got to see then I would be dancing up and down the streets now," she smiled. I managed to pull my face into a smile, she was right, I should have been happy and I knew Shirin would be able to complete the mission without any trip ups, so why was I still not happy?

It was all happening too quickly. It seemed like just one blink of my eyes and it was nearly sunset. I hadn't eaten much; I had lost my appetite completely with anxiety. Shirin was waiting outside, she had got the two horses ready and was just waiting for me, however; there was still the matter of having to get past the innkeeper. I tried to creep silently and undetectably past him, but he quickly leapt up from the old woodworm-infested chair he sat at.

"You wouldn't be leaving would you? Because there is still that matter of your wife's tab," he said almost threateningly, he had jumped in front of me and came up just past my waist. As he spoke he spat saliva and the remains of food at me. I gave my cloak a little flick to get rid of the drool-coated specks of food.

"No, we are not leaving, we expect to leave sometime next week," I lied. I was finding lying easier, I was picking it up from Shirin, and it wasn't that too bad a habit to have!

"Then why all the bags on the horses?" the innkeeper spewing food over me again, it was pointless now cleaning my cloak every time he spoke, I would just wait till he had finished speaking. I had already figured out a lie to tell him.

"We are going to see my family, I believe Teej Mala is approaching so Dipesh is spending some time with my mother, she is taking gifts to please my mother," I lied, I had been doing some research about the different festivals that took place in India. The innkeeper was quiet.

"I see...well, you know that the doors close in four hours time so be quick," he muttered and walked back to his chair. I quickly went outside and joined Shirin. She was sat on the old brown horse; I took my place on the black one.

We rode, so silently through the emptying streets, Shirin's eyes didn't meet mine; I wanted her to look at me. Why wouldn't she look at me? It was almost making me angry. We came to the market place, the place where we would be separating. We both dismounted. I would be leaving to go north of the city while Shirin would stay till after sunset and then go to the palace. We stood looking at each other, we weren't saying goodbye but it did feel quite silent.

"I'll meet you there okay?" she smiled. I managed to smile...but then I found myself doing something else. I was looking in her eyes and then I leaned forward...what was I doing? I was going to kiss her! It didn't seem too obvious but Shirin also seemed ready to kiss me. But then it hit us both. This wasn't something we wanted, or at least, it was something that couldn't happen, not in this reality. I didn't know what had come over me, I didn't understand my actions, but I knew I wasn't going to do such a thing again. She stood back and cleared her throat. We could pretend it wasn't going to happen, it wasn't like I had made it too obvious that I was going to kiss her but we were both secretly aware of it. But, but it could never be. I still loved Farah...yet I was beginning to love Shirin, or at least, I thought I was. She looked at the ground.

"Uh...you really should be going now," she murmured. I didn't want us to part like this...but it had to be like this. I mounted my horse again and pulled harshly at the reins to make the horse gallop away. I knew what was happening, she was stealing something from me. Something that I couldn't yet her take; my heart.


	11. Stealing a Princess

_This is from Shirin's view. Oh also, thanks Eternal Dark Princess for reviewing my first humorous story, I didn't think I would get a review so quickly, thanks to Kathryn too, who also gave it approval before anyone else saw it. Anyway, back to the story... _

**Chapter Eleven: Stealing a Princess**

_What the heck was that? I am not Farah, so he better stop thinking I am! Why would he want to kiss me! I'm a thief – I'm suppose to repulse everyone and be seen as a coward and there he is, ready to kiss me. Why, why would he like me? No one likes me...last night, I thought he was lying. Why would he put his trust in me and take me out here, trying to make his girlfriend princess remember and then kiss me!_

My thoughts raced madly. I moved into the shadows and resided there. I was angry with him. He was messing with my mind, I liked him, yes, but I knew he liked Farah, he liked her more than he liked me. What exactly did he want me to do? Kiss him back? If I had done that...then what the heck were we doing here, in Amber? I tightened my grip on the hooded cloak I was wearing; I was back in my dark clothes that I wore when stealing things at night. Heh, I was stealing something now, I was stealing princess...of course; I wouldn't just be chucking her in a bag like all the other things I had stolen...however...interesting thought. I moved silently and almost invisibly through the streets, I was approaching the palace. I saw the elite guards patrolling the perimeter – what a dull job! I looked up at the darkening sky, it was time, if Farah had read the letter, then she would be waiting, but, if she wasn't, then I had a problem on my hands. Okay, this was it. I channeled all my energy and teleported. I wasn't particularly fond of teleporting. The speed I moved at and the feeling of projection. I was transformed in a shadowy ghost form. My physical body still in place by the wall, but time had stopped, and without time there were very few rules. Sepia bled into my sights, I could move now. I bolted towards the wall of the fort/palace, and in my projected state I could just pass through it. I found myself in the gardens, I saw the still frozen Farah, sat under a tree, she had her bow and arrow, the dagger in a black scabbard and was wearing a dress exactly the same to her red one, but it was black with a golden hem. My breathing could be heard but it was maximized and altered so it sounded like a loud undead groan in my head. I was here now, I released time and it began flowing again. It was a bit of a painful hit when my physical body caught up with me and met the projection of myself. My vision returned to normality. I felt so tired now...teleportation always took loads out of me, I had a painful stitch in my left side; I would have to wait a while before going again.

"Farah," I called to her. She leapt up and pointed her loaded bow at me. I placed my hand up and slumped against a tree. "No, it's okay, I'm not here to hurt you," I murmured. I saw she had the locket around her neck, she also had the medallion on. I looked at it, I don't know why, but I always felt so drawn to the medallion and now, I so badly wanted to steal the dagger, but I knew I couldn't.

"Who are you?" questioned the princess; she lowered her bow but didn't come near me.

"My name is Shirin, listen this is going to sound a bit crazy but everything I say next is completely true – and that's a first for me. Not so long ago your city and palace was sacked by the Persian Empire, they stole the Hourglass and a young prince took the dagger. They moved to the Persian City of Azad, there the vizier of this palace managed to persuade the mentioned prince to unleash the sands. Everyone was killed, however, the Prince didn't die because he had the dagger and you, you were there, you survived because of your medallion, and the Vizier had his staff. You and the Prince had to stop the Vizier and had to reverse what had happened. Through this you two became pretty close, but when you were nearly there, ready to reverse everything, it kinda went wrong when the Prince didn't do as he was told and it turned into a bit of a camel's ear. The two of you ended up in a tomb, there you stayed and you taught the Prince the word Kakolukia, making you both fall asleep in a slumber having a shared dream. However, you woke and stole the dagger. I guess you kinda wanted to rewind everything yourself, thinking that you would be able to do it yourself and be able to keep the Prince out of harms way. However, when the Prince caught up with you, you were a little bit tied up...actually if you were tied up you probably wouldn't have ended up falling to your death, which is pretty much how you died in that reality. However, the Prince did his best to save you," I explained. Farah seemed a little unmoved as she stood with folded arms.

"I very much doubt he did, if I was in his position and someone I cared about had done such a thing then I would have happily yet him fall to his death," said Farah.

"Well, there is a thin line between loving someone and hating them. He really did try. You were holding the hilt of the dagger and he was holding the blade. Could you honestly say that you could have kept on holding on?" I asked her.

"Well...I suppose I would not be able to do so, not with the excruciating pain that would come with it," murmured Farah.

"See, and after all that agonizing pain, it wasn't him that let go, it was you. Anyway, after that, he managed to rewind time and ended up at the point before his father's army entered the city, he had to kill the Vizier, as it was the Vizier that betrayed your father. He went to your room and – "I continued but was interrupted by Farah.

"Wait...I know this. A few months ago a Persian came to my room and he did slay the Vizier. The story you have told me is true to the one he told me," explained Farah. I cried out loudly.

"You mean to say that I went through that whole story and you already knew it?" I leapt to my feet. "Well that's good I suppose, now lets go," I said taking Farah's wrist. Farah managed to pull herself away from me.

"I can't trust you! I don't even know your name or where we are going," cried Farah backing away. I stood akimbo.

"Oh so you trust a prince without a name but not me. Okay, well I am Shirin, I am Persian and I met the Prince while robbing his palace, so I'm a thief. I am now technically kidnapping you...actually, forget the 'technically' I am just kidnapping you. Now, the Prince wants to take you to the Fountain of Sight to get you to remember exactly what happened so you two can fall in love again, get married, live in a palace and have loads of mini-Princes and Farahs, oh and by the way, if you do get married, don't invite me, or you could just not wear any jewelry. Now COME ON!" I cried and grabbed her hand again yet she fidgeted so much and pulled away in the other direction.

"Let go of me!" she cried loudly. She grabbed an arrow and drew its head across the back of my cloak. As well as ripping my cloak she also caused a large cut down my back.

"OOO-WWW! Yeesh! You try and help someone and then they just slash you across the back!" I moaned jumping up and down as the heat from the pain wouldn't go. Someone must have heard Farah and I shouting as I heard the heavy trampling of feet – oh great, this was suppose to be a bloodless, silent mission, it was going to turn into a bloodbath now! At least twenty elite guards ran to the princess's defense. All pointed their gleaming, sharpened blades at me.

"Get away from the princess!" they ordered. I backed off. My options ran through my mind. The Power of Revival? No, there was no real way I could get out of this, Farah would never agree to come with me peacefully. The Power of Delay? No, I couldn't take on all these people even with the martial arts training I had (that was my weapon, sure, it wasn't as good as a sword or mace, but it was something) and the slowness of time. The Power of Haste? No, it would take several punches and kicks before these people went down, even with the sheer speed of a mega-freeze I wouldn't manage to get them all down...plus it took too much out of me. There was one last power left, one that only I had. The Power of Summoning. It was far too dangerous, I could even be killed and it would take a lot out of me even if I did survive. It was on par with The Power of Haste...but unlike The Power of Haste, The Power of Summoning would guarantee all the guards' deaths. It was my only option...plus, if I was to be honest, I had never tried this out yet so I wasn't quite sure what it would be like. I had learnt what the Power was about. You called up the minions of time, the undead, they would kill all that posed a threat to you. I stepped back, I summoned up the sands, a state where I almost fell unconscious. A sandy golden hue came over my eyes, an aura of a dark yellow surrounded me. The guards hadn't a clue what was happening, but they knew they should have been scared. The sudden energy-drain hit me, a painful feeling of loosing all my consciousness, but I was still awake, I crouched up covering my face and eyes, I was literally crouching in mid air. Then the dark figures began forming at my side. My own army of undead creatures. The sky turned a dark gray, there was a hellish roar and then it began to rain heavily, the ground was rumbling. The guards were now fleeing – they hadn't even seen what was to come, Farah backed away and loaded her bow. She aimed at me and then fired her bow...a pointless action as a decaying hand grabbed the arrow before it hit me. The shadows had formed into skull-wearing, scimitar-holding demons. The guards and Farah could barely behold what they saw. With a flash, the demons teleported in front of the guards and slaughtered them, as if they were helpless lambs! It barely took five seconds before all the guards were on the ground, with blood stemming away from them, like tributaries to a river. They then turned to Farah, no, I didn't want her dead...that was enough. I removed my hands from my face and set my feet down, the demons began walking away, back to my side and were returning to dark shadows and then nothing. The sandy golden hue from my eyes seemed to disintegrate slowly. I was back to normal. I fell to the wet ground. The sky had returned to its blackness that came with it being night and it had stopped raining. I felt so empty, drained and slightly demented, I was oblivious to what I was doing in the gardens. But then I suddenly remembered. I looked up at the mystified Farah, I could see the fear in her face; she loaded an arrow into her bow and pointed it at me.

"I don't know what you are, and I hope you won't be alive long for me to find out," she said, her voice trembling.

"Wait! Listen, I really didn't want to kill those people, but they pretty much gave me no choice! The Prince is waiting north of the city, please can't you just come with me?" I asked. Farah turned and fled. Just my luck! I try to explain things nicely and it doesn't work! I ran after her...I didn't think she would be so fast but also, she seemed to know the gardens off by heart, I didn't so it was hard trying to avoid the trees. I finally ran close to a wall and leapt up so I was running on it. I leapt and seized her, making her fall to the ground. She was taller than I was, so it was inevitable that she would end up falling when I grabbed her.

"For Ormazd's sake stop running and just listen to me!" I screamed holding her at the waist.

"I don't even know who Ormazd is! Let go of me!" she screamed, she grabbed a lock of my hair and began pulling it. I screamed out loudly.

"Ow! Quit it you bitch!" It didn't matter if she was kicking and screaming, I was making physical contact with her so I could teleport...although I was seriously going to need to rest up after all the energy I had used. I shut my eyes, projected myself and raced north of the city. With a golden flash I appeared on the slopes outside of the city. Farah was obviously very shaken. She got to her feet quickly.

"How did we get here?" she demanded. I stood up, my scalp hurting terribly, I placed a hand on it and gave a little sound of discomfort; I wasn't too bothered with watching where Farah was going; she wasn't going to get anywhere soon.

"We're north of the city. Oh, and Ormazd is the Zoroastrian god of goodness and light," I murmured rubbing my head. I looked around and saw the Prince on our black horse approaching.

"Shirin! You're alright! What took so long?" He asked quickly dismounting. I opened my mouth to answer but I saw the Prince's attention be completely removed from me and placed primarily on Farah. He darted up to her and placed his arms round her, holding her tightly. He was so happy and joyful...I couldn't help but be a little bit jealous, after all, I was the one that had gone to the trouble of getting her, loosing several strands of my glossy black hairs on my head. However, Farah's feelings were far from mutual and she pushed him quickly away from her.

"Who do you think you are? I order you to return me to the – "she started but then stopped, the Prince had been wearing a hood when he had embraced Farah, so she hadn't seen his face but the hood fell down as she pushed him away. She looked at his face, in this reality she had only seen it once, but she knew it was a face that had protected her and her whole city...but nevertheless she still probably wasn't going to trust the Prince or me.

"Who are you? Why have you brought me here?" she asked, she asked this quieter but her voice was still trembling. The Prince explained who he was and explained about the Fountain of Sight, but Farah shook her head cutting him off half way.

"No, what is your _name_?" she asked. That was a question that I too, wanted to know the answer to.

"My name...uh, you want to know my actual name?" asked the Prince. Farah nodded. "Why? I mean it is just a name..." the Prince said. I looked at him slyly.

"Tell us Prince or I'll make you!" I cried. He raised an eyebrow at me, okay he was asking for this. I got him in a headlock and began running my knuckles across his head. "Tell us! I can do this all day!" I warned. He managed to struggle free.

"Ah! Okay, I promise, I'll tell you Shirin, and then you can tell Farah, but only after I have got Farah to remember! Okay?" he cried rubbing his head – great, so now it was only a matter of time before he was going to tell me his name. Although the moment appeared rather light, I could see from her eyes that Farah still felt scared and didn't want to go with us. Yeesh, didn't that girl ever smile? I had almost got a bald-patch and was totally drained yet I was making light of things!

"Well, I understand the predicament you are in but I honestly can't go to this place, please return me to the fort," said Farah. I knew the Prince couldn't just do that, he could just let Farah go back. He shook his head.

"I can't..." he murmured. Farah stared at him. That had probably been among the few times someone wouldn't do what she wanted. She turned her back.

"In that case I will just find my own way back," she said, she was so worried, it could be told by the uncertainty in her voice, she probably didn't know the way back. The Prince grabbed her hand.

"You can't go, please, will you just come with me?" asked the Prince. However, Farah tried her best to pull away and put up a great fight...finally one thing came up in both my mind and the Prince's. An option that I was happier to use then the Prince was.

"I honestly didn't think we would have to result to this," murmured the Prince. We had left Amber far behind, we decided that we would travel for the night and then just rest for tomorrow. We gave Farah a horse of her own; I traveled with the Prince. So Farah's horse wouldn't run off, we attached its reins to our saddle.

"Mmm-hh-mmm...mmm, ghmmn hmm?" said Farah muffled from the gag I had tried around her mouth. We had tied her up and placed her on the horse. She had stopped having her mad fits now, finding it a little bit futile, she was just sat now looking slightly depressed on the horse. Oddly enough, the Prince and I managed to understand what she was saying.

"It's about midnight now, why? Are you tired?" I asked. Farah looked at me; she wasn't glaring so much now.

"Hmm hhm-eem mhhh," she replied.

"Yeah...I suppose this is something out of the ordinary to do, I guess it stops you from being tired. I've never personally been kidnapped, how is it?" I asked. Farah shrugged as she spoke and her eyes moved from the ground up to me continuously. She muffled something in reply. She looked at the Prince.

"Hmmm ummm mh-hmmm um?" she asked. The Prince looked at her.

"What? No, why do you think I would kill you?" asked the Prince; Farah muffled something in reply, this time the Prince couldn't understand her. "Wait a moment," he said, he reached over and removed the gag.

"I said, 'well, being kidnapped usually leads to being killed'," repeated Farah. The Prince was amazed at Farah's thoughts, almost amused.

"Haven't you listened to a word I have said? Do you think I have just come here to kill you?" he asked. Farah looked blankly at him.

"You mentioned a fountain and something about taking me there," she said. The Prince placed his head in his hands.

"Uw...women, they're all the same, in one ear and then out the other." He muttered. How dare he! I jabbed him harshly. "Ow...okay, Indian princesses that exist at this moment with the name Farah, especially the ones that I loved," He said correcting himself. He removed his head from his hands. "Okay, we'll set up camp here, Shirin you go and get some firewood while I explain everything to Farah," he ordered, I got off the horse and began walking off.

"I'm in the middle of the desert! Where I'm I going to find wood? I know you just want me out of the way so you two can have it away with each other...with all the having away with 'it' there will be no more 'it' left," I said walking off. I wasn't actually in a desert but I liked to exaggerate. I looked back at them. He was helping Farah off the horse, huh, he had never done that for me, well...it wasn't me he loved was it...was it?


	12. With me

_Back to the Prince's POV_

**Chapter Twelve: With me **

I looked at Farah, she was real, she was here, sitting in front of me...I thought I would be happy, and I am but yet I feel such a pain, because I have to look at her and know that she recalls nothing. I knew I could go through the whole story again, but that meant nothing to her, not really, that was all she thought it was, a story, although I had told it to her nearly twice now, she would never honestly believe it. She just thought she was in a standard princess-kidnap situation, she didn't believe anything about the Fountain of Sight, and now, even I found myself loosing faith.

"Farah, I really did love you in the reality that existed when I released the Sands, I understand that no recollection of this will exist in your mind...but surely some feeling towards me has been left within you?" I said. Farah shook her head.

"If I had recalled something about you and the whole incident of the Sands, then I wouldn't have been so unmannerly towards Shirin when she was trying to bring me to you," said Farah.

"Uh, 'unmannerly toward Shirin'? What exactly do you mean by that?" I asked, Shirin didn't actually look too happy when she had returned. Farah looked at the ground.

"Um...I wasn't exactly in agreement with going with her...we got into a bit of dispute." Murmured Farah. 'Dispute', I knew what that meant.

"Did you try shooting her?" I asked very straightforwardly. Farah looked offended.

"I would never harm anyone unless they brought it on themselves!" she defended looking up with a scornful face.

"Oh, so whenever you shot me I had it coming – charming!" I cried. This didn't effect Farah, she didn't remember ever firing arrows at me, and personally, it was an experience I would happily forget. There was silence for a while. I stood.

"What are you doing?" asked Farah, she watched me as I went over to the two horses and opened up some of the baskets.

"Shirin is probably going to take a while, I might as well get camp set up," I said. She looked back at the ground.

"Oh...I remember that girl, Shirin, from the marketplace, I didn't at first though. She was wearing a hooded cloak, like you," She said. I wasn't paying too much attention to her until she asked me a question. "Why is your cloak ripped so much?

"Because it got caught on some swords I was given by two visionaries. According to them, I'm going to die and one of the things that I had to do was find you and make you remember. Shirin repaired the cloak for me," I explained.

"What is she?" asked Farah's voice behind me.

"What do you mean? She is a Persian," I said.

"I doubt every Persian can summon the dead," murmured Farah, I turned to face her.

"What?" I asked, confused by what she was talking about.

"Before, she was able to summon the dead to fight for her," explained Farah.

"Well that's a new trick. She does a lot of weird stuff. She has the natural ability to change time, teleport and do that thing you just mentioned," I explained and went back to unpacking.

"And you trust her?" asked Farah, I turned round. I was annoyed by everyone's constant lack of understanding of why I trusted Shirin.

"I really do think we have been talking too much, why don't you just be quiet now?" I asked. I had never meant to snap at Farah like that but I felt a need to defend Shirin...sometimes I was worried about my feelings for Shirin, I knew, back in the marketplace I had almost kissed her, I hadn't meant to...I suppose it happened because we had been together so long, but also, it seemed like she was doing everything possible to attract me...no, I can't blame her, it is my fault if I am so gullible. I could see Farah was hurt, I would be too if I was in her situation. I continued to unpack as Farah sat silently. Why was I being like this? For about a month, I had longed to see Farah, and now that I was actually with her, I was arguing with her. I knew it would be frustrating, her not knowing but I didn't realise that it would be this painful, having to listen her deny any knowledge of our love. I couldn't even look at her because I knew it wasn't my Farah, my Farah knew who I was!

I was left at a slight predicament as I finished setting everything up, what was I going to do now, I had nothing to do. So I sat down beside Farah, it was very dark now; her face was lit by the moon causing a glazing effect over her eyes. I sat silently beside her, tracing my fingers along the ground; she suddenly broke the silence.

"I suppose...I have missed out on a lot," she mumbled quietly. I stopped and thought about her words.

"Truthfully, from my view it is better that this is something you have missed out on. I mean, if my desert-boots were on your feet and you were in the situation I am in... well, it is enough to drive any sane man mad," I murmured.

"So, it hurts a lot?" she asked. I nodded and replied.

"Even looking at you hurts never mind hearing your voice." Farah looked up at the glowing, enigmatic crescent that was the moon. I didn't look at her, not that much anyway, only out of the corner of my eye.

"If I received the memories that I had lost, they won't make me the Farah you loved, you do understand that don't you? Yes, I will be aware of what had happened, but that doesn't mean that it happened to me, me, me as in the person that I am now. I still won't have felt those emotions that I had felt during that day because this place that you want to take me to, it won't give me back those emotions, just memories of them," she said to me. So bleak and hopeless. I looked at her.

"And what happens if with the memories your emotions for me return?" I asked.

"Then I will love you, but then you have to ask, what would happen if those emotions do not return?" she said. I stood and walked away a little. I thought about her question, I knew the answer. She would feel like me, every single day.

"Then I have committed a terrible crime by allowing you to have these memories, for they will haunt you every hour of each day. Each day will be like a nightmare as these will memories claw away at your mind like some ravenous bird." I replied. There was silence. I continued to walk but then suddenly stopped as I heard Farah's voice.

"Then let the memories haunt me, I would rather be aware of everything I have done in life and have the hope of finding my love for you again, then just lead a life not knowing," she declared quietly. I knew she was looking at me, but I didn't face her.

"Are you saying that you will come with me then?" I asked, I was feeling optimistic, but I wouldn't allow myself to show this in my voice.

"I am not going so I will end up falling in love again with you, I am going because of my own need to know," Farah said, making sure I clearly understood. A smile was growing on my face, the reason didn't matter, what did was that Farah had agreed to come with me and that meant, if not only for a while, she would be with me and that was all I really wanted. Shirin suddenly teleported in front of me, making me jump slightly with fright, why was this girl always popping up at the most inappropriate of times?

"What are you smiling about? Oh don't bother answering, here's the wood," she said dropping several twigs and large cut-offs of wood, she looked at me, obviously expecting something, she finally gave a sigh and sat on the ground. "Okay, I'LL get Farah, I'LL get the sticks, I'LL make the fire – don't worry, I'm just incredibly tired!" she moaned trying to create a fire by smacking two stones together. Farah stood up and went to stand by Shirin.

"Um Shirin, I wish to apologise hurting you before," murmured. Shirin didn't look terribly impressed.

"Great, more people being nice to me, well, it's better that your not screaming your head off anymore, so you are coming with us, totally free of will?" Shirin asked.

"Well...I am not going with you because of your reason, so technically this is still against my will, but yes, I am coming with you and I will not be putting up anymore conflicts," explained Farah.

"Hm, whatever, just don't slow us down," ordered Shirin coldly. I cold see in Shirin's eyes a dislike for Farah. However, it wasn't a feud that would go that far, she couldn't be against Farah for the whole journey...could she?

The next morning I woke up early with the sound of clattering outside my tent. I pulled on my armour and cloak and went to see what the noise was. Farah was packing things away.

"Namaste," she greeted, a word that meant 'hello' or 'goodbye'. I watched her packing the things away, we had given her own tent, she wasn't really going to run off, not after what she had said before. She had cleaned the pots and pans that we had used last night to cook a meal in. It was a Persian meal and Farah said that I was well and truly a Bawarchis...it seemed a compliment, I didn't actually know what it meant.

"What are you doing?" I said. There was no sight of Shirin; she was probably still sleeping.

"You never really thought about the idea that by now someone would have noticed my disappearance and it is more than likely my father has sent a whole army of people to go and find me and then return me to the safe walls of the palace, did you?" she asked. The thought hadn't actually entered my mind but it was such an obvious thought and I was surprised at myself for not thinking of it.

"You're right, I'll go wake Shirin," I said and walked over to Shirin's tent. However, when I opened it I found Shirin, lying asleep, but tears were rolling down her cheeks and she was crying silently. What was wrong with her? What was she dreaming about?


	13. Kidnapped

_So you know what she is dreaming about, I have switched to Shirin's POV. _

**Chapter Thirteen: Kidnapped**

I didn't know where I was, but wherever I was, I felt a presence that I found comforting. I sat in the eternal darkness. Why, why was I wearing this dress, a yellow dress...there was something so familiar about it. My thoughts, mixed with the voice of someone else, a man, ran over my head like water. I said nothing, I just sat, a golden glaze over my eyes. Was I thinking all those dark thoughts? Who was replying? _I hate her so much, I wish she was dead. Well you know what you should do, the dagger and medallion are yours after all. _I leapt up as those worlds flowed through my mind with the man's voice. Half of me was nodding, agreeing. Yes, that was what I would do, I would slay her, I would slay him. I wanted it! My father wanted it! But then there was the other half of me...the other half that was disagreeing, that was screaming back at the man's voice, telling him to shut up. That half made me run, I ran through the shapeless world trying hard to find a way out of this place. I was breathing hard and then suddenly realised the man was chasing me. I couldn't outrun him...I wasn't strong enough. But then...I hit someone as I didn't pay attention to where I was running. I stood back. It was him, not the man, it was the Prince. He said my name, and then I was drawn out of the world...I was taken out of the nightmare.

I sat up immediately, my cheeks - damp and more than likely reddened. I was safe, I was back in the tent that I had gone to sleep in, I was back in the real world. The tears continued to run though, I didn't realise the Prince was there until I looked up and saw him, he looked concerned.

"What are you looking at? This isn't an exhibition! Get out!" I ordered but he stayed put.

"Why were you crying?" he asked.

"GET OUT! It's none of your business!" I screamed at him, yet he still didn't move, what was his problem? Why couldn't he see I just wanted to be left alone?

"We're leaving soon, we have to go, are you okay with that?" he asked calmly.

"Fine! Whatever just go away before I hit you!" I cried, he finally removed himself from the tent and left me alone. I was beginning to hate him...wait, I wasn't, I wasn't sure about my thoughts towards him, him or Farah. The dream...I had never dreamt such a thing...it had felt so real, was it? Who was talking back to me? That was a question I knew the answer to, or at least, I was sure I knew. It was my father. When I was in that dark world...I knew everything, I was sure I did, I knew who I was, who was speaking to me...but for some reason I could barely recall any of it. Or maybe I wasn't allowing myself to do so, maybe I knew the truth was too dark for me to handle and I was just hiding it from myself. Who was my father? How could I know that it was my father speaking to me if I didn't even know who my father was? My thoughts were all over the place, all of my thoughts trying to understand the dream. But then I came to a conclusion, the dream was only a dream and a vague one at that, it meant nothing. I grabbed a small comb and straightened my black hair, and then I tied up my bandanna and went outside to face the Prince again...and then there would be Farah. She approached me.

"I heard you shouting, are you all right?" she questioned, I could here the genuine concern in her voice, but that didn't stop me from totally blanking her and walking past her. She didn't understand my behaviour, I knew she didn't because of her confused face. I washed my face with some water, the coldness of it refreshing me. "Did I say something to offend you, Shirin?" I heard Farah ask. I turned to face her.

"Well, you being here is getting at me but it's not like I can fix that...well I can but I'm sure the Prince here wouldn't like that," I grimaced deviously. The Prince knew what I was getting at and glared at me madly; I didn't care what he was thinking about, at least I knew I didn't lead people on to think about things that didn't exist, like certain emotions. When I thought about that, it made me want to slit his damned neck in the night; if he was cursed to die, then I wanted to be the one to end his life...but then I really thought deeply and knew I couldn't do such a thing – no matter how much he annoyed me. I wasn't sure what was wrong with me; I didn't understand why my thoughts had suddenly become so dark and twisted. I began to drink some of the water.

"Are you actually going to help pack away?" asked the Prince's voice from behind me. I didn't turn around.

"Hey, it's your quest, I'm just the guide," I shrugged continuing to drink my water.

We started our journey again quite late in the morning, my lack of help did have some effect; but I believed in what I had said – it wasn't my quest! What was wrong with me? I could hear the voice again; it was fluttering around me...was it really there? Why couldn't anyone else hear it? I was asking so many questions - questions I couldn't answer. I didn't feel very good, I just felt really lousy and things were going to get worse. A sudden energy-drain hit me, blood rushed to my head making me dizzy. I found myself losing consciousness; everything darkened and soon all I could hear were the faint calls of the Prince as I fell off the horse, then I heard nothing.

I seemed to have just passed out but then I regained consciousness again, some form of consciousness that is. I drifted in a ghostly form across the desert, the Prince wasn't in sight; all I could see around me was the rippling air in the desert heat. The voice began fluttering around me again, repeating its message in a shadowy voice. _They are near. They are approaching. Be aware of them. _Yet those words meant nothing...somehow, I still felt disconnected from my body. I suddenly found myself teleported to a different part of the land. I followed two racing black horses, but I did not get lost or suffocated in their dust cloud. The riders were two desert nomads...their clothes were unusual. They wore red cloaks, but these cloaks did not go to the ground nor did they cover the arms of the wearers. They were wearing black trousers and shoes that actually resembled red slippers – their outfit seemed a little bit oriental. They had long black hair but it was tied in a long plait that probably travelled all the way to their feet. On their backs were double blade staffs, on one end was a long harpoon-shaped spike and on the other was a half-moon blade. The sun had darkened them and they were twins. Both with broad noses, angular chins, thin eyebrows and blue eyes. They were young, about three years older than me and had that adventurous but somewhat devious glint in their eyes. They were of a masculine build and probably had brains as well as brawn. They were using some sort of glowing stone, maybe it was a tracking device of some kind, or it could have been just a pretty glowing stone. I immediately felt some sort of fear from these two...and I quickly found out why. I twisted my body, so a drifted facing away from the two. I saw they had a whole army of followers, they carried swords, maces, arrows, daggers, all sorts of weapons but none wore the same clothes as the two leaders. I found myself slowly drifting back, out of this form of consciousness and then slowly falling back into my body, my physical body.

My eyes eased open slowly. My head was on the ground; no, it was on something like a small folding up blanket. My dazed eyes stared at the blue sky. We had stopped; I smelt the aroma of something nice waft under my nose. Farah quickly came into my view and I saw her hand me a bowl.

"What's this?" I asked sitting up. In the bowl was a mixture that consisted mainly of what appear to be spices with lentils, this was also accompanied by white rice.

"It's just tarka dhal with chawal, you'll feel better once you've eaten," said Farah, I took the bowl. Her words hadn't been filled with any bitterness...unlike like my words would have been. I felt bad, she was being so nice to me...and I had just been so mean to her. She went back to the pot and continued to stir the tarka dhal. I could not see the Prince anywhere. I looked over at Farah, she took little notice of me, maybe, maybe I could try being nice to her.

"Um," I started, Farah turned round and looked at me, I wanted to continue...but the words couldn't come out, instead I was filled with dark thoughts and thought about how she had just walked on the scene and was suddenly the most important thing. I hated her!

"Did you want to say something?" I heard her ask. I looked up and frowned.

"No! Why would I want to talk to you!" I sneered and returned to sit quite hunched over my food. Why did she have to be here? Why was the Prince still stuck on her?

"Oh." said her hurt, soft voice, "Well, if you want to know where the Prince is, he has gone for a little walk, you were out so long...he should be back soon." I rolled my eyes, just because she was a Princess – that was the only reason the Prince liked her. But suddenly that became the last thing on my mind as voices ran over my head, I didn't realise whom the voices belonged to, but I eventually figured that one belonged to the Prince and then there was another voice, well there appeared to be two other voices that were young, dark and sinister and very much like each other.

_Who are you? _

_Are you the demon?_

_What? _

_You know whom we are talking about...but it is not you, we are looking for a woman, you know her don't you? _

_What? I haven't a clue what you are talking about!_

_Silence. All those connected to her will suffer. _

_If you want to fight then just bring it on. _

_We do not fight with swords; it is a shame you had to find out this way._

I suddenly heard a scream rattle around in my head! It was him, it was the Prince! The bowl slipped from my hands, it did not brake but a shattering sound echoed around in my head.

"If you didn't want it you could have just given it back to me," I heard Farah's voice say. I didn't move, I just sat frozen. What were all these voices? Was it just my overactive imagination or was I actually listening to a scene where the Prince was being hurt. I heard Farah's voice call my name, but it was like I was slowly sinking into water, her voice become muffled. I seemed to sink into a catatonic state. I found images flickering in my sight. I was walking through the corridors again, in my yellow dress, my hand tracing over the walls of what seemed to be a temple. I peered into a doorway and stared into a large vast room. There was a large see-through dome above, the sky was darkening again. A dark figure stood in the centre of the room, draped in a dark cloak. His voice fluttered around me, a familiar voice, the one I had heard when dreaming.

_I told you they were approaching, why do you constantly refuse to listen? _

The words...they were words I didn't understand. My world was suddenly shattered, I leapt back and found myself back in the desert. I heard the flash behind me, the flash of teleporting. I leapt up and looked who it was. It was the two men, the ones I had seen travelling. They stood brandishing the bladed staffs. They were by themselves. I saw Farah load her bow.

"Who the heck are you?" I asked. They were holding up a pinkish glowing stone that was tied up with string – I had seen it before.

"It's one of these two," said one of the two. The other one began to utter some words...I had never heard them before, but they were causing some sort of effect on me. Heat swept over me, a stifling feeling that slowly robbed me of air, I fell, with Farah, to the ground, all my strength was taken. I collapsed.


	14. Fate's Wrath

_It's Shirin's POV still, I apologise if this is proving difficult to understand with the changes of POV. By the way, I have no idea what a God of Fate looks like so I've just used my imagination. _

**Chapter Fourteen: Fate's Wrath**

Slowly my senses returned to my body as my eyes eased open. Where was I? I looked around, I was in some sort of large grey tent; I was laid on the floor with my hands and legs tied with scabrous rope that was cutting into my ankles and wrist, probably causing a bright red rash. There wasn't much in the tent – but it had a slight eerie atmosphere about it. I twisted my body, pushing myself sideways. I saw some sort of book, it looked old, the pages worn, yellowed and probably only just holding onto the spine with the aged binding. It was opened up on a page, nearer to the beginning then the end. I did not understand the characters or words, they were neither Farsi nor Indian; they were less consistent than these languages with small symbols. Not that I was even that good at reading, my writing wasn't that good either. The room was incredibly dimly lit, and the deep depressed feeling was so dark inside of me that it made the small hours before dawn seem bright. How had I ended up in such a situation? I didn't know if the Prince was around, and my knowledge was pretty limited about the whereabouts of Farah too. I pulled myself up, to try and find out some more about where I was. Nothing inside the tent seemed familiar to me...the only thing I had learnt about the tent's owners was that s/he had very bad taste. How could I joke at a time like this? I shut my eyes to heighten my other senses; maybe they would prove more enlightening. I heard people outside, a lot. I also heard the crackle of a dancing fire. I suddenly heard something that made me jump.

"_Will you wake up!" _It was Farah's voice! She was alive! Although I was hardly her friend, it was good to hear her voice and it sounded near, however, she was probably in another tent. I heard someone enter a near tent and tell someone – more than likely Farah – to be quiet. This gave me a feeling of confirmation that the Prince was also alive – otherwise who else would she be trying to wake up? I didn't really like waking up in tents; I had all reason not to, last time it had happened I was almost murdered because I was thought to be a demon – me? A demon? What sort of dumb idea is that? My alertness suddenly grew as a flap on the tent opened and someone stepped in. It was one of the brothers that were twins. He was wearing the oriental-styled clothes but he didn't have the mystical stone with him, but he held the double-bladed staff in his right hand.

"Okay, putting this as nicely as I can: who the heck are you and where are my friends?" I demanded immediately. Half of the man's face pricked up into an extremely canny smile.

"You're a very brash girl, aren't you?" he smiled, in a dark voice that terrified me but I didn't show my feelings.

"Hey, you're ugly but I don't complain! Now who are you?" I demanded again, trying to be as offensive as I could without letting my defences down. He didn't appear to offended at my remark – which was good, because I was treading on a incredibly fine line here.

"I am Neelkamal, my brother, Durjaya, and I captured you and your companions. We tracked you down, you are a demon," started the man, I slowly rolled my eyes and under my breath I muttered:

"Here we go again..."

"My brother, myself and our followers are the Demon Catchers," Neelkamal continued, almost proudly – yeesh, I had only met this guy yet I had the sudden urge to either kill him or myself!

"Oh the irony..." I murmured while looking at the floor.

"We will slay you at dawn, it is nearly time, your friends will also be killed, you have corrupted their minds," Neelkamal continued. I rolled my eyes and looked at him harshly.

"C'mon Neelkamal! Do I look like some sort of evil, demon, I-destroy-everything type of person?" I asked, though this was a futile thing to ask, as Neelkamal was obviously a zealot in his work. Neelkamal didn't answer my question and went on to put me down more as he explained that none of my odd powers would work.

"We have cast a hex on you that has diminished all your demonic powers, so any thoughts or attempts of escape will be done in vain," he warned and then left me alone, awaiting my demise. I looked back at the aged book; it must have been a book of black magic or something crazy like that. Just great! I escape one lunatic to only have to meet another...or two – whatever! Well...I would escape, I always did. My options were limited though; I couldn't teleport, I couldn't manipulate time in any way, I had no weapon, I wasn't strong enough to snap the rope...I had no options.

The realisation that I could not escape and it was more than likely that I would be killed was dawning on me rapidly. No matter how much I wanted to shake the pessimistic thoughts, they still lingered in my mind...what was I going to do? I struggled, pointlessly, trying to snap the rope. However, all my efforts just ended up with me in a sorrowful, tearful state with my wrists probably looking very raw with an exposed layer of flesh. I couldn't be killed...I was too young – and I wasn't even a demon! _Why the heck wouldn't those stupid bastards just figure that out!_ I was feeling so angry, so my breathing was heavy yet I was scared and upset so tears were tracing their way down my face. I hadn't heard much from Farah...I had heard a loud cry a while ago, but that was it. Time teased me so badly, everything taking so long. Had the others given up too? It seemed so as I just waited, I wished someone would come, come and help me; so I stared, fixated, on the tent's front thinking any moment someone who I knew would come in and help me. But I knew that wasn't going to happen...the feeling of weakness grew inside of me as half of my mind kept on telling my body 'just give up now, you can't go on, they're going to kill you'. Why was I feeling so bleak? Why had I given up so easily...surely...surely...there was something I could do? Wasn't there?

More time passed and I lay on my stomach so as not to cause anymore pain on my hands (they were tied behind me). I felt so empty and thoughtless. The voice, the voice that I was becoming more and more aware of, fluttered around me. I knew the voice was there and I now it felt so natural it being there, it didn't startle me, I knew the voice...I felt close to the voice. '_Why have you given up?' _the voice asked me. A harrowing male voice that seemed to fly around me like a butterfly.

"What else can I do? I haven't any clue. I suppose when I do die, it won't be so bad, I suppose it will be like fleeing from this world," I murmured quietly, my eyes glazed, my vision unfocused. I sensed the near presence of someone, but I knew no one was there. _'That is a unusual thought, especially from someone who isn't even from this world' _the voice pointed out. My understanding of whom the voice belong to was unreliable...I knew, yet I didn't know – I always felt it was my father, but even I didn't know where this belief came from. I thought about my past, my childhood...no one had ever been there, no one, not when I fell and needed picking up, not when I was being called a freak...and again, no one was here now, the streams fell faster and harder as memories ran through my mind. "If you are my father then why do you leave me here? Why are you going to let those I care about die? Why are you going to yet me die? Why do you never show yourself?" I yelled, my tears running down my face. The voice remained a low, deep, calm pitch. _'Who said I was going to let you die?'_ I heard the voice ask. I was silent; I didn't know what the voice meant. However, I was soon going to find out. In front of me, some sort of creature began to loom into my vision, as if all the shadows in the room had drawn into some sort of living, breathing creature; the breathing was some sort of loud, ghostly drone. The creature did not seem terribly human-looking; the black shadows had formed into something that was probably suppose to have the shape of a human, but the limbs and digits were to overly exaggerated with hands more like talons and the ribs protruded so much it made the figure look like a skeleton. I couldn't make out the face, it seemed almost as if the creature hadn't a face. The creature didn't even seem to have a solid form and seemed purely made up of flickering shadows and darkness. The figure was frightening; it was some sort ghostly creation that wasn't of this world, yet I didn't feel scared, in fact, this was the first time since waking up that I actually felt safe. I felt the tightness of the rope loosen, as if a snake had stopped constricting itself around me. I stood, shakily, beholding the creature in front of me. Who was it? I didn't know. What was it going to do? It was going to kill everything in fight. So simply said, and so simply done by the creature. I saw a guard run into the tent, he had obviously felt the sheer tremors that were moving across the lands, tremors I had seen but not felt as I felt somewhat de-sensitised from everything around me. The creature turned to see the guard and it seemed almost with a simple glare he killed the man. The man suffered a death that was probably agonising as the blood from inside him bled over lips and dripped down into the ground, the ground that he soon found himself on. I found myself teleported outside, I didn't do it; he took me here, the creature. The campsite was made up of several tents, large ones mainly. It barely took seconds, yet those seconds must have seemed like hours to those who felt the Wrath of Fate. They knew something must have been approaching, something they couldn't handle. Their eyes became fixated at the disturbing creature, their faces dropped and the colour drained from their faces as they were filled absolute pure fear. They were all going to die, and personally, I didn't care. With a roar that seemed to come from the centre of the Earth, the terrible shock waves moved across the ground and it appeared the creature was dragging up the ground, making it uneven. I wanted them all dead! My thoughts became darker and twisted as I seemed to fall into some sort of trance, my thoughts all set on the extermination of all those in front of me. With a blood-curdling cry, the creature sent out a golden shock wave across the ground, freezing everything except for itself and me. The creature conjured up a sword, a black one that had a sharpened edge – the sword was not a human-made one, it couldn't be, for it even seemed to have a black glowing aura around it. The creature, moved from one body to the next, cleaving each one of them! I heard the tearing of flesh, the cracking of bone – but I didn't care! I knew there were loads of them! But they were all going to suffer a painful death! Each member of the Demon Catchers had a golden slash mark on them, a mark that was a symbol; a symbol that would condemn them to death as soon as time started again! Every single one was marked, the creature finally stopped; he turned back mildly to look at me, the creature was the owner of the voice, but the voice had many forms, this was just one of them. Another shock wave moved across the ground, but this time it hit me and made me fall. It made me snap out of the dark trance I was in and then the reality of what had happened hit me. Time caught up with all those who stood in front of me, the strikes all came to pass and I heard them scream in pain as the pain from being cleaved in half struck them. I looked up, I saw the dead bodies; it looked like some sort of massacre had taken place. Blood rushed to my head and I suddenly had the urge to be sick. Had I done this? Was all this split blood caused by me? I felt so shaky and scared. Suddenly I remembered the Prince and Farah; I had to find them. I managed to get up, though I wished to be sick again, and run to a nearby tent.

_

* * *

_

_I'll write a chapter from the Prince's view of what happened now. Hmm...I've just realised something, Shirin and her family (dad to be exact) are the original neighbours from hell, the dad will kill you if you brake any of his things or mess his daughter around and the daughter will nick all your stuff – hm, nice! By the way, I may take a while to write the next few chapters cos I've got some script work and since that has a deadline it kinda does take priority. _


	15. A single memory

_This is from the Prince's view and begins a couple of minutes after the beginning of the last one. By the way, I'm just guessing Ayodhya would have been around at the time of this story because it was around in 200AD and is still around today._

**Chapter Fifteen: A single memory**

I wasn't awake and I wasn't asleep. I was so tired, sleep was something I longed for and I was on the verge of it. I had been attacked somehow; I must have passed out before the fight had even started, I had little clue of how those twins had even appeared in front of me. My thoughts drifted to Shirin and Farah briefly before I dipped into sweet slumber...however, I wasn't going to stay there.

"Will you wake up!" I heard Farah's voice suddenly yell, but I was just too tired and took little notice. Someone entered the room we were in and told her to be quiet. Yes, Farah be quiet – I'm trying to sleep. I didn't open my eyes, no; I was just too weary. However, Farah had already figured out a way to ruin this peaceful state I was in. She kicked me hard, in the face. I jumped awake, crying out loudly. I took in my surroundings quickly. I wasn't sure where I was; the place was foreign to me. It seemed to be some sort of large, pointed-ceiling, grey tent that had several lanterns inside. A pain suddenly hit me, a stinging feeling in my tendons between my biceps and shoulders; my hands had been tied above my head with rope that was attached onto a chain that was connected to a wooden beam that was part of the tent's frame, I had to admit, it was a sophisticated and rather intriguing design. I was sat on the floor, Farah was sat opposite me; her arms were also tied and suspended up. "See! It's probably because you're such a heavy sleeper that I stole that wretched dagger off you – you probably only have yourself to blame!" she whispered harshly. I blinked with a blank face. I had never seen her so annoyed.

"Where are we?" I asked. I saw Farah roll her eyes with annoyance; she had probably been awake longer than I had.

"Two men attacked me and Shirin, they used some sort of magic to make us defenceless. I woke up here and I don't know where Shirin is, what happened to you?" she explained quietly so as not to alert anyone outside, there were probably quite a few people about as I heard general talking going on outside.

"Pretty much the same, I got so far in the desert and then was confronted by some twins. They must have used some sort of magic because it felt like someone had stabbed me in the back and I passed out with the pain, but as you can see, I am fine. Do you know anything else?" I enquired. Farah nodded.

"Yes, these people call themselves the 'Demon Catchers', somewhat platitudinous if you ask me. I met one of the leaders, he was called Durjaya and he said he would kill us soon! So will you get an idea of how to escape soon?" demanded Farah. I was silent for a moment. This situation's options seemed somewhat limited, if Shirin was with me, she would be able to teleport, but she wasn't here. I couldn't break the rope no matter how hard I tried; it was too secure, firm and coarse. I looked at Farah, she had the dagger scabbard but it was without the dagger; I hadn't my swords either. My thoughts left the subject of escape to wonder temporarily over to Shirin. Where was she? What state was she in? I found it odd; I cared so much about her, yet I knew so little about her. Farah suddenly broke my train of thoughts, her voice lacked the harshness that it had just used; instead it was replaced with softness. "Are you thinking about Shirin? I'm sure she is okay. After all, if she's able to kill a load of elite guards and kidnap a princess then I very much doubt anything can hurt her. Where exactly did you meet again?" she asked.

"Back in Persepolis one night when she was trying to rob my father's palace," I explained. Farah smiled.

"Quite the operative way to meet a thief. Um, if I remember correctly I was told that the Persian king's palace was in Babylon," said Farah.

"Oh it is, but that is just one palace, we have palaces all over Persia. We returned first to Persepolis, to rest a short while, and then went onto Babylon. I later returned to Persepolis later with my father, however I was suppose to return back to Babylon...about three days ago to be exact. Doesn't your father have forts all over India?" I asked. Farah shook her head.

"Well I've only ever lived in Amber Fort. The whole point to my life as a princess, is to smile to the public, get shoved into a marriage and then smile some more," explained Farah bleakly. I had never really thought about the whole idea of marriage like that...when she put it like that, it sounded rather depressing.

"Well, if you ever want to marry someone you know then you can marry me," I murmured, slightly daringly.

"Hm, that is assuming you have an idea for our escape," pointed out Farah. I was silent again. Thoughts and scenarios ran through my mind as I thought of an escape route.

"Well, if they do plan to kill us, they will probably untie us first, maybe we can try escaping then," I suggested. It was probably our only option but Farah wasn't please with it.

"Well what do we do if they don't untie us?" she asked.

"Well putting it in the way Shirin would say it ' we are well and truly screwed'," I explained, "all we really can do now is wait."

We sat, waiting, waiting for those who were suppose to end our lives but hopefully wouldn't. The stinging sensation I had been feeling was now just a dull numb ache. Farah and I hadn't really talked, though talking would have probably helped the time move faster – not literally that is. I was trying to prepare something in my head to say, something that wouldn't lead onto talking about the situation, what had happened or Shirin's abnormalities. However, before I could think of something suitable to say, Farah launched into a question about the one subject I thought she would want to avoid.

"Did you really love me? Before, when we were in Azad?" she asked. I looked at her, I was sure my look said enough but before I could ask her to change the subject, I found myself replying.

"Yes...I felt close to you before the whole disaster, you were watching me as we moved across the desert to go to Azad. Don't you remember that at least?" I asked. Farah shook her head. I looked at the floor, I hated it when she said or gestured that she never remembered.

"I am sorry, for betraying you," I heard her apologise; I didn't look up at her.

"It isn't really your fault, you don't really remember it," I murmured. There was silence for a while. Farah broke the silence again.

"It was sweet what you said about marrying you, I'd rather marry you then some stranger, I'll keep what you said in mind," she said, I looked up and I saw she was smiling. I thought about her words, analysing them in my mind.

"You don't consider me a stranger then?" I asked. She shrugged (with difficulty though because her hands were tied up) with a smile.

"Well, I suppose not, no. I mean not many strangers kiss do they?" she mumbled. _WHAT_? What the heck was that last bit about? I questioned her on this. I saw confusion appear on her face. "Don't YOU remember before? When we were at the fort? You kissed me and then rewound time to change it because you had startled me," she explained. My face dropped. I was filled with several emotions, happiness because she remembered something, embarrassment because of what she remembered, a slight feeling of annoyance because Farah had never mentioned this before.

"You remember that? How come?" I asked.

"Well from what I have gathered, the only time I will forget what has happened is if I die, I did not die so I did not forget," she shrugged.

"WHAT? Then why the heck did you only bring this up now?" I demanded. Farah shrugged.

"I just didn't think it was entirely important – by the way, kissing a girl when she's not expecting it isn't a good way for her to like you, especially if you're practically a stranger at the time," she explained. I was still incredibly annoyed.

"Farah! You have a terrible way of putting things in wrong-priority order – how could that one single memory be unimportant?" I cried but before she could answer, we were both terribly shaken as a shock wave moved across the ground and was quickly followed by a number of smaller tremors.

"What was that?" cried Farah, a rhetorical question as she knew I knew about as much as she did. Though the tremors played havoc with our sense of balance, we managed to stand. I opened my mouth to say something to Farah but suddenly a yellow shock wave moved across the ground and then...

It had almost seemed as if I had blacked out or something. When I 'awoke', Farah spoke first.

"W-what happened?" she asked, she was barely able to stand, maybe she was shaking because of fear, maybe she was shaking because of the tremors – they had stopped now but they had obviously left Farah feeling uneasy as it had done to me. I wasn't shaking though, I was still. We suddenly heard several loud cries of pain, all at once. I stood and looked at the entrance of the tent. My heart pounded against my chest, I hadn't a clue what was happening but somehow I knew a lot of people outside had just been killed at the same time. There was silence, a silence I couldn't understand. A eerie calm was in the air. I suddenly heard someone approaching. Both Farah and I stumbled back, we hadn't any weapons so we were at the total mercy of whoever entered, and judging by the screams we had just heard, the person who was about to enter the tent didn't have a lot of mercy. We both stared, fixated on the front of the tent. However, the figure that entered was hardly a merciless killer. It was Shirin. All the tension I had been feeling suddenly disappeared.

"Shirin! Did you – wurgh! you untie us?" I asked after trying to run to her, but obviously being pulled back by the chain. She didn't move or react at first, her face was blank; she looked almost emotionless. She looked like she was looking right through me. "Are you alright?" I asked her. Her eyes looked up at me, she nodded.

"Yeah..." she mumbled quietly, almost in a child's voice.

"Then maybe you could untie us now?" I asked.

"Huh? Oh, sorry," she mumbled quickly and began to untie Farah and me. Now that my hands were untied and my arms were down, they seemed to be aching even more than before.

"Shirin, were you aware of the tremors –"started Farah but Shirin quickly interrupted her.

"I didn't do it!" she quickly cried. Farah looked confused.

"Do what?" she asked. I wanted to know too, Shirin seemed to be acting rather suspicious and out of character. She looked at me and Farah, we both must have had very sceptical and penetrating faces on as Shirin backed away and snapped back us.

"Stop looking at me like that! I didn't kill them!" she cried back.

"Shirin, you're not making any sense, what are you talking about?" I asked. Shirin looked a little distressed and she wasn't able to say anything. I walked passed her and looked outside of tent. I froze. The colour drew from my face. All I could see were more and more dead bodies, either severed at the neck, waist or somewhere else.

"Okay Shirin, I accept you didn't do this...because I know there is no way you could do this, but who did?" I asked calmly. Farah walked to see what I had been looking at but I heard her immediately wretch as she saw; she probably hadn't seen many dead bodies in her life. Shirin mumbled something very quietly, I didn't hear. I looked over my shoulder at her, she was facing away from me. Why didn't she want to tell me? Maybe she honestly didn't really know either. I wasn't angry with her, I had no reason to be. At least she was safe, and since everyone that could pose a threat to Farah or me was dead, that meant we were safe too.

I returned to Shirin and Farah, holding all our weapons that I had retrieved from another tent. We were stood by the edge of the dead bodies. I could see from the look on Farah's face that at any point she was going to be sick, Shirin herself had a similar overwrought look on her face.

"Okay, let's teleport out of here," I said looking at Shirin. She didn't take this in at first, as if her mind was working on a time difference.

"Huh? Oh, I-I don't think I can, those twins, they put some sort of hex on me. That's one of them," she mumbled and pointed to a decapitated head. I saw Farah sway slightly, as if she was about to faint.

"You know Farah, if you want to be sick you can, I'll even hold your hair back," I said, trying to sound kind but it probably came across as more sarcastic than caring. She muttered quietly in reply:

"That won't be necessary, thank you." She continued to sway slightly unsteadily. I looked back at Shirin; she seemed to be just as shaken as Farah. She was such ghostly pale it looked like she had seen something that had disturbed her greatly. Somehow, I knew she was keeping something from me, something important, but I wouldn't question her seriously now, I'd wait till she was feeling better.

"Well, if whoever put the hex on you is dead then I hardly think the hex still has an effect on you," I suggested. She shrugged and nodded as agreement. She placed her left hand in my right hand and her other hand in Farah's right hand. She shut her eyes and then, like always, we were bathed in a blinding light...but this time...there was something different...

I opened my eyes.

"Whu-urgh-argh! SHIRIN! Why did you teleport us to the top of a roof?" I cried. Shirin had teleported us to a town or a city, which was good, the bad part was that she had teleported us onto a slanted roof of a building – something neither Farah or I (or even Shirin for that matter) expected so we all lost balance and fell down onto the hard, dirt ground. Farah and I stood and dusted ourselves off, at the same time we were glaring harshly at Shirin.

"What? I didn't bring us here; honestly, I had no control over where I went, where are we anyway?" she asked and looked at Farah. It made sense to look at Farah, as this was her land so surely she would recognise the city. However, Farah shrugged.

"I have never been here before, remember, I spend nearly all my time in the fort...so technically no one here will really recognise me, meaning no free-help. We are hardly in the best of situations...we have no money, no form of transport, no food or shelter," murmured Farah. It was late and the streets were empty however, I suddenly noticed one lone figure walking. It was a young man, he looked so harmless making him look even younger than I was. He was of medium height but looked a little shorter than I was. He was skinny but a very large smile was spread on his face, he didn't appear to be smiling at anything in particular – he seemed a naturally cheerful person. His face was clean-cut and his eyes were a lively grey – odd, as I never thought grey eyes could ever appear lively. He probably had black hair, because although he seemed reasonably tidily dressed, his blue turban wasn't well wrapped on his head and exposed a lot of hair. He was wearing clothes that were just off white and he seemed to have quite an up-beat walk. Farah quickly got his attention. "Um excuse me, this may sound a bit of an unorthodox question but, where are we?" she asked. His smile grew.

"You're right, that is an unusual question. Did you fall asleep on a passing cart and wake up in this city?" he asked trying to think up ways of how someone could end up asking such a question. He answered our question. "Well you're in Ayodhya, you know, in the north of India, the city that's name means 'not to be warred against'!" he chuckled. Ayodhya? In the north of India...Shirin had to be right, she couldn't have teleported us this far. Who did then? Well, that was a question that didn't really need answering, at least we were nearer the mountains that we had to climb to find the Temple of Sight. The question that was on my mind now was 'what are we going to do now?'

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_If there're any Sonic fans reading this then maybe you should know that my older brother is using my account to write a Sonic fic called 'When Two Worlds Collide', it's a 'R' rating (cos it's gonna get violent and there is some language) and basically may interest the older fans of Sonic, if you do read it then be kind and review it (it's a heck of a lot harder to get reviews for Sonic fics because there's so many of 'em! Plus it's his first fic)! Thanks 8)_


	16. Prince to Pauper or chef!

_Whoa – I didn't realise quite a few people were reading my work, sorry if I took a while to update. Just one thing though – Shunwang, thanks for your review but were you complimenting my writing or were you confused by it (I guess it is understandable if you are confused about Shirin because her background is seriously weird) and I think you got the wrong story cos I don't know what you mean by 'songs'? Were you referring to Shirin's poem? Anyway… _

**Chapter Sixteen: Prince to pauper…or chef**

"Wh-argh! Couldn't you see I was sleeping here?" I screamed as a bucket of grimy water was thrown from a window landing mainly on me. It awoke me from my sleep, not that I had been enjoying it, but nevertheless, this form of alarm clock was very much a nuisance. I leapt up off the dirt ground; I was drenched in the sewage. The only apology I got was a raucous call of abuse from the window that the water had been thrown from. "Next time Farah, I'M choosing where we sleep!" I cried trying to twist most of the excess water out of my shirt and trousers. Farah, who was sitting on the ground leaning on the wall of the building that the water had been thrown from, eased her eyes open and stood.

"It does not matter where we sleep, we'll still be sleeping rough," she yawned, stretching her arms out. "Are you aware that you smell horrendous?" She asked dusting herself off.

"Well if YOU were sleeping where I was then you too would be smelling!" I cried in defence.

"Okay, don't get your underwear in a twist!" murmured Farah, she woke Shirin up, somehow she had managed to stay in slumber throughout Farah and me shouting.

"Urgh…okay, so what are we doing now?" she asked.

"Well, we need money to buy something to eat first. Okay, does anyone have anything they are willing to sell?" I asked. Judging by the next thing Farah said, she must have thought I was looking at her.

"I'm not selling my locket or my medallion if that is what you're thinking!" she immediately rebuked.

"I wasn't implying that…well, maybe we could busk, however, I very much doubt we make a harmonising trio; in addition, I can't sing…although…" I murmured. We were silent for a moment, however, Shirin pointed something out – something we should have thought of.

"Um, you do realise I am practically a master thief? Stealing some food would just be like taking food from a baby," she pointed out.

"'Taking food from a baby'? Why would you do such a mean thing?" Farah asked slightly shocked, I personally had to agree and put on quite a scornful face.

"No, Your Majesties, it's a metaphor, I wouldn't really do such a thing," Shirin explained. Immediately a slightly embarrassed look appeared on both Farah's face and mine. Farah and I weren't really acquainted with common phrases. "Okay, well you tell me what you want to eat and then I'll meet you back here," she said.

"Shirin, you need hardly draw up a entire menu, just grab something that'll keep us full or so till midday," I explained. She shrugged and then went off.

"You want another mango?" asked Shirin. She must have stolen at least twelve! I couldn't figure out how though, she hadn't any big pockets and her side-bag was only small. We were sat on the ground in a small alley, this time we weren't sat under a window.

"I'm not sure we really should be eating mangoes that have been stolen, they're sacred fruits," murmured Farah who had accepted Shirin's offer although she wasn't incredibly happy about the situation. I was noticing that Shirin was being a little less distant and cold towards Farah, but not entirely.

"They're mushy, yellow and hurt when thrown at you…what's so sacred about them?" asked Shirin. Farah went on to explain.

"Well, Lord Shiva brought the mango tree to Earth for his wife, Parvathi. Parvathi loved mangoes and was sad when she found out that on Earth mangoes could not be found," explained Farah.

"Oh, well don't be expecting me to go and plant trees of your favourite fruit across Persia just because I love you," I warned.

"You know, shouldn't we be thinking of someway to get transport, more food and somewhere to sleep where the wake-up call isn't a bucket of water?" suggested Shirin. We were silent but Shirin looked at Farah and me as if our only option was obvious, she finally explained. "We should get jobs!"

"Oh. Um, Shirin, you do realise that the Prince and I have never actually worked…ever," pointed out Farah. This was true…unless being a Prince was a job. Shirin put her head in her left hand.

"Oh I don't believe this…c'mon I'm sure you two have some sort of day-to-day skill," she cried, we looked at her blankly. "Uh…okay, you go around looking for jobs; I'll meet you at midday at a tavern called Amalendu's Tavern. I saw it near one of the market places earlier, okay?" asked Shirin. We nodded and then dispersed into the crowd of the Ayodhya.

We met later in the tavern; it seemed a good to drown our sorrows (you can probably guess that we were thought hardly suitable for any of the jobs we had tried, I went for a job of an actor who would be playing a prince – yet I was thought un-princely!)..that is, if we had money to drown our sorrows with. Shirin had tried a lot of apprentice jobs, blacksmith, carpenter, alchemist, but she was refused for being 'of the wrong orientation', put basically, being a woman. I was too un-princely to act as a prince yet I was far too royal-like to be a guard. Farah had tried to become a dancer…but was said to have had 'no rhythm', she went for a job as a scribe (because she could read and write)…but she was just laughed at by all the male scribes in the room…in fact, they were all men so maybe that had something to do with her not getting the job. The song that was being sung was hardly helpful for it was incredibly depressing. The three of us slouched, all feeling very melancholic.

"I wish I had lived a normal life…maybe then I could have learnt a skill and have become very good at it…" I heard Farah murmur. Shirin sat back in her seat.

"Don't beat yourself up Farah, life's a bitch, no matter how good you try to be at something there's always someone better than you," Shirin muttered. I looked at our surroundings. The floorboards weren't terribly creaky or dusty, in fact, the whole place was incredibly tidy. There were several tables that had chairs all facing a small platform that had the daily entertainment performing on it. The walls, that were stone, had a bright red stripe going across it like a boarder. The only problem I saw with the tavern was the lack of waiters or waitresses, the one cook was constantly coming out of the kitchen to take the orders. The cook hardly looked like a chef in my opinion, I just couldn't imagine him creating some sort culinary masterpiece. He was a pale-ish man with light freckles that went across his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. His eyes could not be seen due to a long black fringe – but I guessed they were probably dark. He was of medium build and height and had a very poised posture. His face was round but had a pointed chin and flat cheeks. He seemed somewhat serious for I hadn't let seen him smile, well, his voice lacked extreme seriousness, it seemed slightly soft, low, effortless and his words just seemed to trail on like the clouds passing. I looked over to one empty table except for a man, he was staring at us constantly but I couldn't figure out why. I looked him straight in the eyes. Suddenly his eyes widened, as if he had suddenly recalled something from his memory, he got up and quickly made his way to our table, his face had a giant grin on it. He sat opposite me, still grinning, as if expecting me to say something. He finally explained who he was in a joyful voice.

"You obviously don't remember me! I'm Amalendu, you met me yesterday, after the sun had set," he said lively. I suddenly recalled the face we had seen last night and realised it was him. I should have guessed from the way his turban was incredibly untidy. I was about to introduce myself and my companions; however, before I could do this Shirin already was getting very close to Amalendu.

"Hi, I'm Dipesh, now you seem like the kinda guy who would help out some jobless young adults," she smiled. Amalendu shuffled, a little frightened, away from Shirin but he tried to keep a smile on his face.

"Uh…you're looking for jobs then?" he murmured.

"Yes, judging by the name of this tavern, we take it that you own it. We see it is very short-staffed," said Farah. I saw Amalendu was hesitating, I would be too, he knew nothing about us.

"It was rude I didn't introduce myself, I'm Cheveme and this is Farah. We've recently come to this city and we were wondering if we would be able to get jobs, so far we have not been lucky," I said.

"Well that is a shame. My father started out as only a small merchant, now he owns a lot of businesses here in Ayodhya, maybe if you start like that then maybe history will repeat itself. You're still young…how old are you all?" asked Amalendu. Telling him our actual ages wouldn't really be that bad.

"I am eighteen, as is Farah and Sh – Dipesh is seventeen," I said, almost letting my guard down. Amalendu seemed so friendly and innocent I didn't feel the need to hide things from him – but he was a stranger.

"Really? I'm twenty-two, this business actually belongs to my father, he has the same name you see, but I have to manage it…but I can't say I am very good at it. You're right, I am short-staffed…I suppose it wouldn't harm to put you on trial for a week or so," Amalendu finally agreed.

"'On trial' – what have we done wrong?" I asked, looking confused, as was Farah. Shirin put her head in her hands and then looked at Amalendu.

"Don't listen to them – they didn't get out much as children. Anyway, we have another problem – accommodation." Shirin added.

"Well…I suppose I can sort that out. This is partly an inn so you can stay in one of the rooms – but I will have to take the rent out of your pay. So, when can you start?" Amalendu enquired.

"As soon as possible!" Shirin smiled. I couldn't help but find that Shirin really liked Amalendu and now, after the intimidating first impressions, Amalendu seemed to like Shirin too.

"Well in that case, Farah, Cheveme, could you go in the kitchen and Shirin, you can be a waiter with me," said Amalendu smiling, but smiling at Shirin who had suddenly melted like butter for Amalendu. I wasn't happy with Shirin and Amalendu now (and I was NOT jealous…) so I decided to quickly destroy their little moment.

"OKAY! Okay, no need to make everyone sick in the room; this is a place where people eat! Moreover, AGE DIFFERENCE! Shirin you're five years younger! Hey, you know what, I don't really want to be a cook – I don't even look like a cook, but I'm sure Shirin can cook so how about me and Shirin swapping jobs?" I said quickly.

"You do know that you have just aired your thoughts aloud?" Amalendu said looking at me. I didn't really know why, but I acted so childishly, mimicking his voice as to offend him, I hadn't a clue what came over me.

"Well at least Cheveme's name doesn't mean 'Pure like the Moon', how feminine is that!" muttered Farah, taking my side – but probably only because she felt the need, being a friend and all, to take my side, she probably didn't feel the same feeling as I was feeling.

"Well let's be honest Farah, it's not like we actually know the meaning to 'Cheveme's' name is it, we don't even know it," Shirin muttered ever so quietly.

"Pardon? Do you actually still want these jobs?" asked Amalendu not understanding but hearing what Shirin said.

"Oh, nothing. Hey, shouldn't we start earning some money now – you two go in the kitchen already!" ordered Shirin. Farah and I had to remove ourselves from our seats and went through the door that the chef had so often gone through after having collecting the orders.

I tried to peer through the gap in the door, trying to see what Shirin was doing…I wasn't spying, well, I was but I was doing it for Shirin's own good, or at least that was what I had told myself. A loud cough came from behind me; I turned round to see the long-fringed chef standing, patiently, for me to listen to him. He began to speak in his low yet relaxed voice.

"Okay, firstly, you will have to tie your hair back or keep it under a turban. I don't want anyone finding a hair in his or her food," he said first pointing to me. I saw, hung up on a hook on the wall, several large pieces of colourful material that were used for turbans. I took a piece and tried to wrap it round my head – it was only now that I realised why Amalendu had such a terribly tied turban – putting the thing on was like some sort of art! "Uh-kay, now, I am the Cook, that is all you will know me as," he said.

"Wait, hold on one moment! Now I've already met a guy who went around only having a name that was his occupation and you can probably guess what happened to him! I'm the only guy that is allowed to have a name that is the same as his occupation!" I pointed out, childish, yes, but I was in a childish mood. The Cook looked at me blankly, maybe he rolled his eyes or squinted them, but I wouldn't know because of that long fringe.

"I thought you said your name was Cheveme," pointed out the Cook, I suddenly realised my mistake.

"Uh…it is," I murmured. I was sure the Cook was raising an eyebrow and I couldn't help but feel embarrassed.

"Well, I suppose there isn't terribly much to know about cooking – I mean, I lived as a hermit for seven years perfecting the art of cooking, resulting in me going half mad and forgetting my name, I think it began with a 'A'," murmured the Cook absent-mindedly. If we didn't honestly need this job then Farah and I would be backing away by now.

"Um, yes, now back to cooking?" Farah said hoping to direct the conversation in a sanitised direction. The Cook suddenly came back to attention and continued.

"Oh yes, well, if I say for you to tandoori something, then go and put it in a clay-oven. I'm sure not much will go wrong, it's not as if you're royalty and have practically never cooked before," smiled the Cook…somehow, I knew this was going to go terribly wrong…

After several exploded aubergines, nine spilt curries and one fly in a serving of raitha, it was finally closing time. We met Shirin and Amalendu in the empty dining area, they were busy tidying away and blowing out the candles that were keeping the room alight. Shirin seemed to have enjoyed her time, all she was doing was asking people what they wanted to eat and drink; she hadn't almost chopped off all her fingers!

"Oh heya, nice gloves Farah…uh, wait, those are bandages aren't they?" said Shirin looking at Farah's bandaged hands.

"I didn't realise you couldn't use a dagger to cut thick objects until I had actually tried…" she mumbled. We had had to change into white overalls and Farah and I had left our weapons in the corner of the kitchen, except for the dagger that Farah kept under her overalls. The Cook hadn't got too overly annoyed at us. He seemed more amused than angry.

"Namaste everyone," he smiled and left the building. It amazed me how his overalls had remained clean while mine looked like the sky with a rainbow painted across it. Shirin was holding a book in her hands, it was old with thin, yellowed pages; she noticed me looking at it.

"Some old guy gave it to me, as a kinda present – kind eh?" she smiled.

"Hmmm…what's it about?" I asked looking suspiciously at the book.

"Oh it's about dreams and what they mean," she explained cheerfully. It surprised me how happy she was; I didn't think a thief would like doing a day of honest work. Amalendu yawned.

"Well, here's your keys, you'll find your room, it's the ninth and last one on the left. I'll see you tomorrow at dawn," he said, he seemed to have his own room on the bottom floor, it was on the opposite wall of the platform. He disappeared into his room leaving the three of us alone.

"Well, this jobs seems nice so let's stay in it for a couple of months," smiled Shirin, she turned round but I quickly grabbed her shoulder and turned her round to face Farah and me again.

"Shirin! Do you know what it is like to have the contents of a stuffed aubergines be splattered in your face?" I cried, she blinked at me blankly, "We're not staying here for long, just until we have enough money to buy what we need!"

"Well…well, maybe I could just stay while you go on ahead," she suggested. She knew that was a dumb assumption.

"Shirin, YOU are the one that is taking us to the temple so you have to stay with us!" I pointed out.

"Well, um, I don't know exactly where the temple is…" she muttered quietly. I looked at her sharply.

"What?" I asked darkly.

"Well all I knew was that it was in the mountain range north of India, I didn't know where it was pacifically," Shirin muttered quietly.

"So you mean to say that you led me on, thinking you know exactly where we are going, only for you to now admit that it could take months for us to find the mountain!" I said calmly but harshly.

"Hey I led no one on – " said Shirin but I interrupted.

"Well you could have bloody-well have made it more clear that you didn't know where it was? What the heck are we going to do now?" I cried.

"Okay! Before you two try and tear each other's eyes out, I think we better get some sleep! Tomorrow we can we can buy a map…there can't be that many mountains," said Farah quickly playing peacekeeper. What she had suggested would be a good option but I was still angry with Shirin…but I didn't know why, I knew she probably didn't have the full knowledge of where we were going, so why was it now that I was shouting at her?

"C'mon, you can't stay angry at me forever!" I heard Shirin call from my left, every side of me was dark though for it was night. The room was small, long but not wide. It had three neat beds in it and a window that admittedly let in the draft, but not as much that it would keep you awake – it was my restless mind that kept me awake. The walls were stone and painted white, but this made darkened handprints visible. The floorboards were even and cleaned, but had holes in them. The bed, though soft, proved to be small and always uncomfortable. The door, though a perfect fitting, creaked. It seemed the room had plenty of good aspects – but all were tainted. I was still unsure of why I was annoyed with Shirin, I suppose it was due to the fact that it had been a long day and my personality did seem to be undergoing some changes. Over the last day, things had happened so quickly and my mind was finding it hard to take in. Amalendu seemed an okay guy, he was far to innocent to lie and I knew that was the only side he had, but still. I didn't really like the fact Shirin liked him, I didn't really want her getting close to anyone that I believed was an 'outsider', if she fell for him totally, and ended up telling him everything, then he could easily go and betray us thinking he was doing the right thing – something I couldn't let happen. I wasn't at all happy with the situation, but we were going to have to stick with it for a while. I heard pages turning; Shirin must have been looking at that book she was given. "What do you dream of?" she asked. I turned my body so I was looking at her; she was sat up in her bed, using the moonlight to read. I shrugged.

"Sand, I suppose," I murmured. She turned some pages.

"Sand…'beware of new people or friends'," read Shirin, "well, that can't be referring to Amalendu, he's far too nice." I shuffled back so I was facing the window and Farah's bed; she was asleep. I knew it was not referring to her, she was hardly a 'new' friend. But…Shirin, she was a new friend…no, I trusted her; it had to be referring to Amalendu…


	17. Who are you?

_This is from Shirin's view._

**Chapter Seventeen: Who are you?**

The swashing around of water interrupted my sleep, I saw the others had long since gotten up and had left me in slumber – thanks a lot! I tumbled out of my bed and quickly threw on my overalls to meet them downstairs.

It appeared not much had gone on. No customers had arrived yet, well, except for an old, bearded guy who was sitting alone in the corner. The kitchen's door was open and it actually looked like Farah was trying to drown the Prince! His head was half sub-merged in a bucket of darkened water, Farah had her hand on his neck to keep his head in the water, meanwhile, Cook was just standing by stirring one of his odd culinary creations absent-mindedly. Farah noticed me at the door, staring wide-eyed.

"It's not what you think Shirin," said Farah. The Prince lifted his head up…he looked…different.

"Yeah, I've got this dark stain in my hair and I can't be bothered to comb it out," said the Prince, I suddenly realised that his hair was black.

"I told you you should have worn a turban," muttered the Cook, he seemed to be mumbling to himself under his breath, repeating an array of names all beginning with 'a'.

"So you decide to dye your hair…gawd – I can't decide whether I should cry or laugh with the utter sadness of you," I said very plainly. "So how did you get this stain in your hair? Would it include the exploding of a over-cooked aubergine?" I asked.

"Hey! Those things are dangerous! Over-heat them and it all goes up in smoke…literally!" the Prince cried. His speech was becoming a lot more slacker than it was before, I didn't really like the way his speech had changed, I liked the way he spoke before; so much that it appeared that I was starting to speak like his old-self.

"Listen you young, blithering idiots, have any of you heard the news?" piped up the Cook suddenly.

"Did you just call us blithering idiots?" asked Farah, I didn't give the Cook a chance to answer and quickly moved on – anyway, he was always saying weird stuff in perfectly normal sentences, he was, after all, slightly insane.

"What news?" I asked.

"Well, according to a number of rumours, King Shahramen of Persia's son, the youngest one, has gone missing. He is described to be of medium height, slightly muscular, to have bluish greyish green eyes, a slightly wide nose and brownish hair…hey that would look like you Cheveme if you didn't have the black hair," said the Cook not realising the obvious. The three of us began to look slightly…ambiguous.

"Uh yes…but I, like you said, have black hair…" mumbled the Prince, slowly, swaying slightly.

"By the way, you never told me how you three are connected," said the Cook. Once again, we all tried to act incredibly honest and innocent but hardly were convincing…to a ordinary person that is, Cook was fully convinced, or at least, he seemed to be underneath that long fringe of his.

"Well, Dipesh is my father's, half-brother's…cousin's, sister's friend…" said the Prince getting a tad bit carried away.

"Making you two?" asked the confused Cook.

"Absolutely nothings, and Farah is my brother's – " started the Prince but Farah quickly interrupted.

"Friend! I'm his brother's friend!" Farah quickly said.

"Uh…ho…well, Shirin someone's waiting outside so would you go and take their order?" asked the Cook slowly. I went outside the kitchen to see a young woman waiting. She was pretty, prettier than I was and I couldn't help but believe she was younger than I was, though I sensed some maturity about her.

"Yeah? What do you want to eat?" I said, I couldn't help but feel slightly grouchy as I had only just gotten up and I hadn't had anything to eat…I was living in a tavern goodness sake! How could I not have anything to eat in the morning!

"Oh no, I'm not here to eat," said the woman. I stared at her, slightly annoyed.

"Okay, I'll spell this out to you, T-A-V…E…R…uh-wait…um…N! Spelling tavern!" I pointed out, I suppose it would have had more effect if I was better at spelling. I knew my letter to Farah must have been riddled with mistakes…I couldn't really help it, between stealing and summoning up dead people…I didn't really have time to properly learn how to read and write…not that I ever really needed.

"I am very capable of reading, but I am hear to see Amalendu, I'm his fiancée," she said. Something dropped inside of me…

"Would you just excuse me for just a moment please," I said quickly, fixating a smile on my face, I quickly moved back into the kitchen.

"_CRAP! CRAP! CRAP!" _I cried, jumping up and down. I tried to speak quietly, but it didn't really work, and at that moment, I didn't even care! How the heck could I be so damn well stupid! I was head over heels for Amalendu – and he was bloody well engaged! The Prince (who was drying his hair now), Farah and the Cook all stared at me. "What?" I demanded.

"Um…well, when you come in here, cursing, you begin to wonder what matter is troubling you," said Prince.

"Yeah well I was thinking the same thing when I saw you dying your hair in a kitchen! Who the heck has dye in a kitchen?" I cried.

"Well, technically speaking, there is food dye, and I need proper hair-dye to keep the greys away…not that I naturally have greys but you never know when they're going to appear," muttered the Cook. I felt like I was going to scream.

"Okay, today has just been stupid from the start! Now I'm just going to pretend that this is just some stupid dream which I will be awoken from it!" cried Shirin. The door to the kitchen opened slightly behind me and heard the woman speaking again but I was trying to block her out.

"Um, if Amalendu is out, then maybe I could come back later…" I heard her mumble, I turned round.

"Yes," I said shoving her so she turned round. "That would be an excellent idea! Why don't I show you the way out?" I asked and began to shove her outside into the dinning area and then I pushed her outside, slamming the door in her face. I walked back into the kitchen.

"Ankur! That's my name!" the Cook suddenly cried, raising a wooden spoon in the air; it had a sort of runny paste on it so it splattered against the wall. I was on a total downer, I was angry, and I was sure Farah noticed this…and she was probably worried because she knew and had witnessed what sort of things I could do if I couldn't control my emotions properly. I shut my eyes briefly and analysed my emotions. I was annoyed with myself for being so careless and stupid, I was embarrassed because I didn't know what Amalendu thought of me…he probably just thought I was some sad spinster…well I'm too young to be a spinster but he was probably thinking something negative about me; and then there was another feeling, anger, but not at myself, at someone else, but I didn't know who. I just felt it was someone else's fault for me never being happy. It probably wasn't a few brief minutes that I had stayed like this, eyes shut that is, because I heard my name being called softly.

"Shirin?" I heard Farah say, I eased my eyes open, she was standing in front of me. "It is still very early…maybe you should go back upstairs and rest for a little while longer?" she suggested. I stared up at her, not moving head up but moving my eyes. I began to slowly shake my head. "I will be fine, don't worry about me," I said and I found myself walking back into the dinning area, I heard Farah quietly talking about little concerns she had for me to the Prince. She had no reason to worry, no one worried about me…people just hurt me, wait…no, people don't hurt me, I just hurt myself.

I stood, leaning against a wall, watching the people come and go. 'Service with a smile' weren't really a collective of words in my vocabulary. Amalendu still hadn't returned since this morning, he must have left incredibly early, maybe he did it to avoid me. It hurt a lot…but I had only caused the hurt within myself, it wasn't his fault – not that he was going to escape my anger – it was mine because I had been far too trusting. But…that wasn't the only problem, because after all, it hadn't been my trust he had misplace, I had jumped to too many final conclusions too fast. I had only known him for a few hours so it wasn't like I even really knew him, it was unlikely, but it was possible he could have another side to him. Nevertheless, even I had to admit to myself that I was just being stupid by lamenting and thinking over something like this for half the morning. So he is engaged, I should just accept it, get over it and move on. But maybe I couldn't just move on, after all, the Prince and Farah weren't just moving on so why should I? But then again, they were first-loves, something that you tried your best to never let go of, Amalendu wasn't the first person that I seriously liked…I knew who it was that I loved…

Now when I consider that thought…maybe I never ever really liked Amalendu, maybe I just was telling myself that, making me believe that I was feeling this emotion only to cover up another one, a true one, but one that I didn't want to accept. Is there a point to an emotion towards someone if they do not return it? Maybe there isn't, and maybe that is the reason why I wished to hide my real emotions. I like Amalendu as a friend, yes, but nothing more; but with this true emotion, I like someone more than a friend…although I know it is unlikely that it will ever happen; yet for this situation, I'm not going to give up. A click of fingers took me away from my thoughts, and I walked over to the table that I was being beckoned to. The man placed his order, yet the words didn't really store in my head and I was unable to relay the order correctly. I honestly couldn't work in this state. Suddenly the door to the tavern was opened quickly and Amalendu quickly stepped in, I saw from the darkening sky that evening was beginning to take its presence.

"Where have you been?" I asked rather bluntly.

"Out, I had to meet someone, my sister was in the city today, just passing through with a husband. She came from Amber, according to her the princess has disappeared. Quite a coincidence, with the Persian prince disappearing too…I do hope the princess will be alright, especially with there being a wandering Persian about, I hate Persians, they all have shifty eyes and their eyebrows are always too close together," Amalendu said, fixing his turban as it was becoming loose.

"Not necessary," I muttered as he was preoccupied. I looked up at him. "Well your fiancée was here today asking after you,"

"Oh Daya, I'll talk to her tomorrow, she's nice isn't she?" he smiled.

"Wouldn't know, didn't get much time to talk to her between pushing her outside and cursing her in my head," I muttered under my breath, I looked back up at Amalendu.

"You never told me you were about to get married,"

"Well we've only known each for about a day so you're not really going to know everything about me, the same way I don't know much about you," he smiled back.

"Hm…you're right," I murmured quietly, I wanted to be angry with him but I found I couldn't. I wanted to go now; I needed to take my anger out on something else. "Could I please have a few minutes of rest? I have been waiter-ing all day," I asked. Amalendu smiled (as usual) and gestured I could go. I quickly left the room.

"Shirin? Are you in here?" I heard the Prince call. He walked into the bedroom – catching me having a little punch-up with my pillow. "I'm glad I'm not in your bad books," he muttered sitting down opposite me.

"Oh no, I regularly have punch and kick-practices with pillows," I said sarcastically. He smiled, slightly amused.

"I understand you are very angry with the fact that Amalendu already is with someone, but I'm sure somewhere on this flat world someone will love you, and love you for who you are," he said trying to reassure me it wasn't the end of the world – and I knew that it wasn't.

"Hm. Thanks…by the way, the world might not be flat…it could be a sort of…egg shape," I muttered. He smiled broadly.

"Uh…huh. If the world was like that, Shirin, then all the water would fall off wouldn't it?" he said incredibly simply. "Everybody knows the world is flat and if you go to far into the sea then you'll fall off and end up in a black void, that's why sailors have to be very careful. What are you going to say next? That the sun stays still and doesn't go around the world?" he grinned.

"Well that could – " I started. The Prince looked at me plainly.

"Shirin, from the ages five to thirteen I was studying, trust me, I'm a prince, I know this stuff," he said.

"Yes…a prince that because he got a stain in his hair decided to dye it," I pointed out.

"Actually that was a lie, but I had to change my appearance somehow didn't I? Farah should do the same but she isn't going to let me anywhere near her hair and personally I'm not going to because do you really think I'm going to trust her with a dagger after the whole bow and arrow fiasco? _Fire at the sand creatures not the Persian guy!_" He cried. I smiled. He saw that he had raised my feelings. "So are you going to come downstairs now and stop harassing your pillow?" he asked. I nodded and we left the room.

It was about closing time and Farah and the Prince had already left and I was just tidying up the dinning area.

"Shirin! Shirin! Shirey! Shir-ean the…searing…pain, um, okay maybe that didn't go down as well as I wanted," mumbled Amalendu.

"What do you want?" I asked knowing he was after something.

"I know it is late, cold, after your working-hours," he started.

"Get to the point," I ordered.

"Could you please go on an errand for me?" he asked grinning from ear to ear, closing his eyes to help his smile grow. I really wanted to say 'The cheek of you! You break my heart and now you want me to go face the night's weather' but I knew I couldn't.

"Okay, where is it and what is it?" I asked. He briefly disappeared into his office and appeared again with a wrapped up, small, letter.

"I was suppose to deliver it today but with my sister being here and the business and all I didn't really have any time to, here's the address, it isn't too far from here actually," he said with a smile and handed me the letter with the address stuck on it. I didn't recognised the address but Amalendu was probably right about it not being too far from here…

That little, lying…well, I suppose it wasn't fully all his fault. It had been me that had tried to take a few 'short-cuts', it was the dead of night by time I had got back to the tavern. I rapped, absolutely freezing, on the wooden door of the tavern. There was no answer. I stood there, shivering for a little while before knocking again, but again there was no answer. I walked over to a tall window, I couldn't reach it but I tried to call Amalendu's name…he must have fallen asleep, I had been gone for quite a few hours so it was likely the Prince and Farah had fallen asleep too. I slid down the wall and sat on the ground. No one was around…and it was so cold. I rested my head on my knees…but suddenly I felt a presence. I looked up and saw the figure forming from the shadows…it was him. I felt no fear although I was alone and I knew I had no real strength to protect myself because I was so tired. I wanted to know now, I wanted to know who he was, this could turn into a nightmare, but that didn't really matter for I already knew the truth of who he was and who I was would be a nightmare.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"Who I'm I? I am the Dahaka and I am your father…"


	18. Who I'm I?

_**Still Shirin's POV.**_

**Chapter Eighteen: Who I'm I?**

"What?" I asked, I understood yet I didn't. I always knew this creature was related to me somehow and that he (if you could even call it a he) was always following me for he was the one that was making me have the nightmare – he was the one that stabbed me!

"You were created by me. Before time had even started, you were with me in the Temple of Time, you, as well as being my 'child', you were my servant, that was your purpose of your existence. When time started I shot you and made you reside in a timeless, shapeless void until it was your time to take a Human form and carry out your orders. Seventeen years ago, a woman, your Human mother, became pregnant with you. However, with the way of fate, I gave you the chosen path of learning under warriors and masters of various arts. I decided that you shall not have any connection with your mother or any memory of your life before time, but it was I that guided you to the palace that night. When the Prince disrupted the natural flow of time, I was vanished into a void and I can only enter a time zone in this form. I knew this would happen and that is why I have sent you, Shirin. I told you that you were my servant, you were my assassin. I have sent you into this world to follow the Prince of Persia to then kill him and Princess Farah of India," the shadowy creature explained. I took in the words that I didn't want to know. I just sat, slightly frozen.

"What are you asking? I can't harm the people who have proved my closest friends," I murmured, my voice becoming shaky.

"Friends do not steal things off each other do they Shirin?" asked the Dahaka, I looked at his dark gaunt face. I shook my head. "No, they don't. So, why do you consider the two people that have stolen things from you as friends? You see; Shirin, the Dagger of Time and the Sword of Time belong to you, they are your weapons. The Staff that belonged to the Vizier? That too belongs to you, as does the Medallion. I created all these objects for you to help you with your duty, yet others have got their hands on them," said the Dahaka. I shook my head.

"I…I don't want to hear this, I don't want to know…go away!" I cried, I found myself getting up and running, I ran through the empty streets, trying to runaway from him…from it. I knew running was just pointless, it was an incarnation of fate! It knew all my moves before they even came in my head.

"There are many things you can run from in this world Shirin, but you can't run from me or the truth," the voice of Dahaka fluttered around. I clasped my hands on my head and shut my eyes, running blindly.

"No! SHUT UP! Get out of my head!" I screamed, almost on the brink of crying. I felt the feeling of teleportation. He was taking me somewhere, where?

I eased my eyes open and removed my hands from my head. I was in the Temple of Time, the place I had seen in my dreams, in my nightmares, I was in the yellow dress again. I was in a corridor, at one end was a turning and at the other was a open window. I heard steps, he was following me! My panicked thoughts raced in my head. I looked to my right, there was a large room but I would be trapped if I went in there…there was no where else to go. The footsteps were getting louder and I could here a loud drone of breathing. I then saw the window. Was I really going be so crazed and desperate that I would throw myself out of it? It seemed so as I found myself running like mad towards the window. I knew as I took the first step up to window that the Dahaka saw me. Before I knew it I was in a free-fall, the ground that had seemed quite distant approaching…but I blacked out before I made any impact with it. I knew this was just Dahaka manipulating my mind…

I eased my eyes open slowly and saw a grey ceiling. I was in a bed. I knew I could try and 'kill' myself as much as I like in that little world in my head…but it would never effect me here…or at least that was what I thought. I didn't notice the presence of a man taking notes in the room, he noticed that I was staring at him.

"Ah, you are finally awake Dipesh," he said. He was a mature man with lines on his face, the lines of his own and others' worries.

"What happened?" I asked, I noticed that I was wearing a night-dress-like garment…I hoped to God that it had been Farah that had changed me…

"You were outside all night and you passed out. The coldness appears to have got to you a bit so I suggest you just rest up for a while," he said, he must have been a doctor.

"Oh, okay," I murmured. The doctor appeared a little hesitant now. "What?" I asked.

"Well, Dipesh, you also have a number of bruises and a damaged wrist. You didn't get into a fight did you?" enquired the doctor, he was obviously embarrassed about asking with me being a woman and all.

"Do you honestly think that I got into a fight?" I asked quite plainly.

"Of course, I apologise, now I will be back in a little while to check on you," said the doctor and then left the room. I stared back at the ceiling. It appeared then, that the fabric between the timeless world and this world was becoming rather thin. Was I mad? What my mind finally shattered? I knew things now that I didn't want to know. I knew who I was. I was the daughter of the Dahaka, I was its servant and its assassin. He wanted me to kill the Prince but could I honestly do such a thing? I would never harm him or Farah. But now I knew I had my own reason to go to the Fountain of Sight. I needed to know what happened in the time that I never saw. I needed to what I was like before time. I needed to find my memories too.

_Okay that's all, I had these ready ages ago but I couldn't update because my net and e-mail has all been messing up – so if anyone has e-mailed me recently then I haven't received or read it yet, I'm gonna try and fix my computer as soon as I can. .._


	19. Stalker

_Back to the Prince's view. I apologise if the last three chapters have been overly realistic with them getting jobs and all but hopefully it'll get a little bit more adventurous now. Also, Iwouldn't mind if you gave me a review! :D_

**Chapter Nineteen: Stalker**

Amalendu was waiting hand and foot on Shirin, apologising as often as he could to her and he was constantly taking food up for her to eat – most of which she took but after some serious persuasion according to Amalendu. On the few occasions I had a chance to talk to her she didn't seem angry or annoyed (although it was slightly my fault that she ended up being outside all night) in fact, she seemed very quiet and submissive. She hadn't told any of us how she had sustained the bruises that were dotted on her body and it didn't appear that she was going to do so any time soon. Although we had only been residing in this tavern for two days, I was already trying to think up ways of leaving and continuing our journey. I had questioned Ankur, the Cook, about his knowledge of the mountains north of India and he replied that it was very limited but he was aware of freezing cold conditions that surrounded the mountains. This was slightly off-putting, as I (and Farah and Shirin for that matter) wasn't really ammune to that harsher weather condition. I had requested that we be pained in gold and so far, we had about sixty gold, that wasn't really enough to buy us any supplies or anything that we required. I couldn't really ask for more pay because Amalendu had already made our rent quite low and had increased our pay a little. Since the first night here, I hadn't really trusted him but I saw now, with his face of total remorse that he was honestly sorry for Shirin and that he was too pure a person in mind to think of devious things, I felt sorry for him; for it was people like him that were easily corrupted, used and abused. I was getting something out of this experience – my culinary skills were getting better…and admittedly, I was finding that in the time me and Farah spent in the kitchen, I was getting closer to her, yes, I still wished to be with the old Farah, but I was beginning to like this Farah now and I was sure that she was beginning to like me too even without her memories! However, although plenty of good was coming out of this experience, one thing that did slightly worry me was that my skill in swordmanship hadn't been tested for quite some time…

To my surprise, Shirin emerged from the room later in the afternoon, looking tired and bleary eyed, but she seemed happy to be out and about even if it was only downstairs. I probably should have told her to go back upstairs and rest but I knew she didn't want to. Farah had prepared some shrikhand for her and I took it across to her. She was writing slowly, I could see she was thinking about the spellings of the word and trying to neaten up all the letters. I placed the bowl in front of her; she stared at it for a few seconds.

"I am not really hungry," she said slowly and quietly. The softness and docility in her voice was unusual.

"Well…you can eat it later, it should stay chilled for quite some time," I said and took a seat beside her. "What are you writing?" I asked. She slowly passed the piece of paper she was writing on over to me. Her wrist was wrapped up in white linen, the doctor wished her to not move it or use it excessively but she was the type of girl that rarely listened to anyone, seeing her like this…it made me feel bad for having shouted at her. I looked at her handwriting; it was…bad. It was written with a damaged wrist so it was understandable, I could understand the odd word but that was about it.

"Would you like me to read it out?" she asked. I nodded, I knew that was her way of simply saying 'I know you can't read it, I'll read it for you'. She took the note and began to read it; it was seemed to be some sort of poem.

"You know I would never hurt you, you know my feelings for you are true. I would never scream; I would never kick and hit. I want you to know this, know my feeling for you and know that they are true," she read. I blinked slightly at her, it was a good poem, it was only few lines but the meaning was clear…or at least that was what I thought. She stared at me with penetrating eyes, as if wanting me to understand something, something more, something that was between the lines.

"It's good, I like it, who's it for?" I said. She folded up the paper; maybe my compliment wasn't strong enough for her to have faith in the writing.

"It's not finished yet, I'll tell you when it is," she murmured, she was hanging her head, so her hair was arching and hiding her face. She looked slightly…broken, not physically, but…I hadn't yet seen a smile on her face…and that was something that just wasn't right, this was Shirin we were talking about. I stood.

"You will be alright won't you Shirin?" I asked. She nodded. I saw her eyes move across the room; she looked over at a woman sitting on a secluded table. She was a darkened woman and wore very neatly done make-up, her lips were heavily red and her eyes were outlined in black, magnifying their whiteness, the iris was a dull brown but her nose was narrow, long and sharp. Her face was a sharp oval with bone-straight black hair that flicked up slightly at the ends; it was longish but not as long as Shirin's or Farah's. I sensed a certain darkness around this woman, almost as if I saw a slight aura around her. She was dressed in black with a long flowing coat and I saw that on her feat she was wearing leather flexible boots. She suddenly turned her head so her eyes met exactly with mine. Numb. I went totally numb. I felt like I knew her…but I didn't so why was I filled with this feeling of disconnection? I suddenly heard my name being called faintly and then I seemed to have my senses restored and I was back in the room. She turned her eyes away from me. I stumbled back and quickly walked into the kitchen. Farah had been calling me; I beckoned her close so I could talk with her without the Cook taking much notice. "Have you noticed that women in the dinning area?" I asked quietly. She looked blankly at me.

"What does she look like?" she questioned.

"Taller than you, dark, just over shoulder-length black hair," I described. Farah went over to the kitchen's door and scanned the room for the woman. "Her, in the corner with the red lips," I said, I couldn't point her out, it would make things to obvious. Farah suddenly focused on her.

"Oh yes, I see her, what about her?" Farah asked.

"Doesn't she…scare you slightly?" I asked, she turned around and raised an eyebrow sceptically at me.

"No and we can't be gathering any more enemies so stop staring at her, according to you we have plenty of people after us. Firstly, there is my father and yours, then that person you mentioned before, Visha, then there is Durjaya and his brother and now the whole of India knows you're missing and are on the lookout for you!" she whispered. I thought about what she said.

"You know, those twins and Visha, they were after Shirin…maybe this woman is also after her. It appears that her sand-creature like qualities are seen by some, she looks like the weird 'demon-catching' type as well, maybe we should get Shirin to take us out of the city tonight and get the heck out of here," I suggested. Farah continued to stare at me.

"You know Shirin is far too weak to take all three of us, even if she was well she couldn't do it. You can't keep on asking her to do stuff like that, she is only just seventeen and is practically still a child, she is suppose to be taking life easy," warned Farah. I looked back at Shirin.

"You should tell her that…she didn't really like you when you first met, I can't think why. I don't try and use her as a friend, I do seriously care for her, I just don't want anything bad to happen to her," I said. Farah stood with folded arms.

"I can think of a reason why she mayn't like me. One prince, one female-thief, together, in the middle of nowhere, sharing a tent, suddenly a princess turns up," said Farah. I blinked blankly at her.

"Um, I'm not sure what you're getting at," I said.

"Okay yet me rephrase this. One good-looking prince, one good-looking female-thief! Both in their prime and aware of a lot of things and being put in a lot of situations where emotions aimed at each other but then that is all ruined when a princess that that the prince has always had feeling for turns up and the prince pays a lot of attention on her and they try get a relationship together by making the princess recall things she's long since forgotten!" said Farah slowing and clearly. I still looked blank.

"Now is this some sort of story or what because you've really lost me here…" I said. She clasped her head in her hand.

"Oh you really don't get this do you?" she muttered darkly, she raised her head. "Okay. Boy meets Girl. Boy explains sad situation to Girl. Girl knows she can help Boy. Girl goes on long journey with Boy. Girl likes Boy. Boy has friendly feelings for Girl but Boy really likes Other Girl. Boy gets Other Girl but this make Girl angry with both Other Girl and Boy. Now Cheveme, replace Boy with Prince, Girl with Shirin and Other Girl with Farah," she said slowly. I began doing so and suddenly realised what she meant and what she had previously meant.

"Oh. Well…Shirin doesn't like me that much, she is just a friend and my feelings towards her are the same as what she feels to me," I murmured, I saw Farah raise an eyebrow and then walk away and continue her work. 'Beware of new friends'…that couldn't mean Shirin…I trusted her, I liked her, she would never do wrong against me. I peered with my head back at the table the woman had been sitting at, it was empty she must have left, I was glad, her presence put to many undecided and unusual feelings inside of me. I felt something being pushed into hands and I felt a small sharp scratch on my finger. I had received a paper cut as Ankur gave me a small list.

"You used the rest of the almonds in Shirin's shrikhand so I'll need you to get some more and while you're at the market you can be some more saffron, mangoes, tomatoes and some more malsalas, you'll find it all on the list, get back quickly because we really need those ingredients," he said and gave me a little shove so I was in the dinning area. Shirin saw me and got up quickly.

"Are you going out? Take this, I think I will just leave it like this," she said and pushed the piece of paper back into my hand, I opened it and began to read it in my head as I went upstairs. _You know I would never hurt you, you know my feelings for you are true. I would never scream; I would never kick and hit. I want you to know this, know my feeling for you and know that they are true…_

"I never put up a defence against you, I see it only as sense. I care about you and would never leave you. In dark times, I'll be there and I won't follow corrupt minds. I only follow you, you whom I trust, you that only speaks words that are true. Whenever I am lost, you are always there and the burdens that I carry, you will always bear for me. I will never hurt you, but if I did, then I am sorry, all I wanted was to be with you," I read quietly to myself. I was wrapped up in the cloak Zenda had given me; I wondered briefly about how she was. I had learnt that her name meant sacred and Sarosh meant prayer, it made me wonder whether it were her real name, maybe mothers could sense whether their child was of unnatural importance. I wondered what Shirin's mother had thought about her. I had my swords on my back; an essence of insecurity was always in my mind and I always felt better with my swords. I turned into a small alley; it was a short cut that would cut out the crowds. I read the poem again. Shirin had written the second part in capitals maybe so I could understand it more but it could have been to emphasise the words more. I suddenly heard a voice that I naturally knew whom it belonged to.

"It is a touching poem isn't it?" said a voice being me. I froze. It was a woman's voice that showed more maturity than Shirin's young voice or Farah's and it seemed slightly dark. I immediately drew my swords and spun round, ready to slice whoever it was in half, but she drew her own sword and blocked my attack. It was who I thought it was, it was the woman that I had seen earlier. She was obviously waiting for me. She had one sword that she was holding now; it had obviously just been sharpened, she also had two small daggers that were at the side of her thighs, a black axe that was on her back (I could only see the half-moon blade) and two more daggers (but these were bigger than the ones on the side of her thighs) that were attached to her abdomen area at the front. I knew women liked to take extras so they were prepared for anything – but this was juts ridiculous! She was wearing totally black underneath her cloak and wore clothes similar to that of Shirin's but this woman hadn't any sleeves on her black top. She smiled slightly.

"It is always more polite…" she started, she stepped back and because of the pressure from swords against hers, I naturally stumbled forward but with a black flash she disappeared. I quickly picked myself up and turned around, she was behind me. "To bow in greeting when you first meet someone," she said. She had teleported, like Shirin. She must have been from the same origin as Shirin, and I'm not talking about Persia!

"Who are you?" I demanded. She frowned slightly.

"You would expect a Prince to have manners," she said. She knew I was a prince!

"How do you know who I am?" I cried.

"I know a lot about you, Prince, I know that you have taken Princess Farah and you're going to the Fountain of Sight with a thief called Shirin," she said lightly. She knew far too much about me now.

"Stop following me." I said tightening my grip on my swords.

"Who said I was following you? You really are becoming paranoid, aren't you, Prince? Before you know it, you're going to start thinking that everyone is after you and that one day you're going to find your little Farah dead," said the women teasingly. I tried to race towards her and attack her, but she disappeared again. I looked around for her. I suddenly felt her fall on me, I looked up at her; she was smiling deviously.

"It doesn't really help to attack the one person that could help you," she said and then suddenly disappeared again. Who the heck was she? How could she do all that stuff? How did she know about me? I quickly stood and ran back to the tavern.

I kicked the door to the tavern open (I had to be careful for it was an old door and it would probably come off at any second).

"Is she here?" I asked Farah who had temporarily become a waitress. She looked at me blankly. I looked frantically around and saw she wasn't around but a number of bewildered customers were. I saw Amalendu quickly come out of his room; he probably heard the door being kicked in. I looked at him quickly.

"Amalendu, don't let a woman with black hair, brown eyes and an axe in here," I ordered.

"Okay, why not though?" asked Amalendu, I didn't answer his question as I hastily turned to Farah.

"Where's Sh- Dipesh?" I asked.

"She's in the kitchen," said Farah, I quickly grabbed Farah's arm and pulled into the kitchen. "Cheveme! What's going on?" she cried. Shirin looked at me, she was sitting down but I quickly pulled her up and pulled her close so I didn't have to talk at normal speaking level but at a low whisper. Ankur appeared annoyed at me for I hadn't got his things but that was the last thing on my mind.

"Listen, you two aren't allowed out of my sight, understand?" I ordered.

"Why?" asked Shirin.

"Because some weird woman that must have been stalking us knows everything and she can do a whole load of sand-creature stuff," I explained desperately.

"What? How?" Shirin and Farah said, actually together. I replied.

"I don't know how, but one thing is for sure, we're not safe anywhere, not now,"


	20. Trust in a Stranger

  
**Chapter Twenty: Trust in a Stranger**

"Is this honestly necessary?" I heard Farah ask. She and Shirin were sat on the middle bed watching me board-up the window of our room, it was a starless night outside but the moon hung a full, shinning brightly. If we had to stay in the tavern then I wanted us all to be reasonably safe. Whoever that woman was, she knew far too much about us – all I could do was pray that she didn't alert the authorities of Ayodhya.

"Trust me, it is," I said and placed the last board in place. I heard Farah mutter something quietly under her breath to Shirin – "_He's completely paranoid". _I didn't want her thinking that and for a few moments I stopped and thought about my state of mind. Everything I had done up to now I had believed had been the right thing and surely it was. Maybe I was becoming slightly paranoid…but this was a thought I quickly shook away, once you started thinking like that, you were stepping into a dark downwards spiral. I had never really confided in anyone about how I was feeling right now. I suddenly realised that it had been too longer a moment that I had stopped working and I quickly continued…but the thoughts of how I was feeling and how my mind was slowly destroying itself didn't leave me although I wished them to….

I sat silently in the dull darkness of the empty dinning area. Only a single candle that sat in the very corner of the room lit it, but the light was dim and was slowing getting smaller as the fire was dying. Dying like me. When would I die? Zenda had promised it so it was going to come to pass, eventually. Why couldn't I just have the strength to end my own life – at least that way someone else wouldn't do it for me? Zenda had asked me to get Farah to remember…and that is what I am doing, but is there any point to it? If I were to die now, would she miss me? She wouldn't go for many a days mourning like I would. Wasn't this whole trip pointless? I had to be honest; if I could be anywhere right now; then I wouldn't choose the place I am in right now. I suddenly heard one of the floorboards creak. I lifted my head off the table that I had lain it on. It was Farah; she was standing alone and was smiling.

"What are you doing down here? You really ought to stay upstairs," I muttered and placed my head back on the table. Farah sat down beside me ignoring my little subliminal order to go back upstairs.

"I feel I need to apologise for what I said, I didn't mean it, but you were acting a little anxious and apprehensive," she said, I shut my eyes.

"Apology accepted, now will you please go back upstairs?" I asked. She didn't move.

"You really ought to explain how feeling to someone, you can't bottle it up forever," she said, I rolled my eyes under my eyelids.

"Okay then, I am feeling annoyed right now because your mind can't grasp the concept of the words 'go back upstairs'," I murmured, my eyes were still closed. There was silence, she wouldn't move, not until I finally gave in. "Have you ever thought something would be great but then it turns out to be a big let down?" I asked easing my eyes open. Farah thought, I could see it in her eyes.

"When I got to the age fifteen I slowly began realising being a princess wasn't great but dull," she replied. I stared at her.

"Really? I've found that life is a lot like that," I muttered. "You go through a whole load of crap and then you kick the bucket – dying, it's the bloody meaning of life,"

"My mother always told me that life is what you make it and that you are the only one that controls it, no one else will live your life," said Farah, she was tracing her finger of the wooden surface of the table.

"Yeah that's unless fate's already decided how your life is suppose to go," I murmured. Farah looked at me.

"What do you mean?" she asked. I explained to her about Zenda and Sarosh and what they had told me and by the end of it, she looked rather baffled. She stared at my casual if not somewhat depressed face. "Aren't you a little scared of that?" she asked. I shrugged.

"I'll just have to take it when it comes round, I can't stop fate - there's no way I can do that," I shrugged. I found Farah slipped her hand in mine.

"Then why don't you make the most out of life? Why don't you go back to Persia and carry on with your life?" she asked. I looked up at her.

"Because without you I might as well not have a life," I murmured. She smiled.

"You have no idea how prosaic that sounds, do you?" she grinned. I smile grew on my face too.

"I haven't a clue but that's the most romantic thing you're going to get out of me for a long time," I smiled and sat up. I looked at our fingers that were entwined together. "Do you know that I was actually planning on asking you to marry me before you lost your memory?" I asked.

"You were 'planning' on doing so? Didn't you ever actually ask me?" asked Farah.

"Well between killing sand creatures, trying to get past palace defences and trying to avoid being shot at by you there was never really an appropriate moment," I explained.

"Oh…well it would be weird with your Persian family and my Indian family…family gatherings would be terrible," muttered Farah, "But still…it would be nice for us to be together. I've never met anyone that cares so much for me that they would actually risk life and limb and put his trust in so many people," she murmured, I placed my other hand in hers. She stared at me, into my eyes. My deep emotions for her were mutual and I leaned forward, about to kiss her…yet in this world, that wasn't going to happen without an annoying interruption.

"Che – whoa, if I am interrupting you two before you commence 'tumbling in the hay' then I'll just go back into kitchen and pretend I haven't seen a thing for my own personal health because I just can't stand couples," said Ankur, he was still in the kitchen but he was too absent minded a person to take any notice of what we had been talking about. He quickly backed off back into the kitchen. Farah and I quickly picked up from where we had left off…

The next morning any reasonably worried or paranoid thoughts had been banished from my mind. Only thing that did annoy me slightly was that there was always a third person around at the most inappropriate moments, in this case, it was Shirin and because she was around, Farah and I didn't 'tumble in the hay' and although this was the truth it was likely that Ankur was going to get at us, believing otherwise, all day. These thoughts of mine were confirmed later as we started to work.

"You know I have made a great list of names here if you were ever to have kids," he said holding a little list.

"Okay firstly, Farah isn't going to have kids and secondly, if 'Ankur' is at the top of that list then I'm going to chase you while wielding two swords!" I cried. Ankur quickly crumpled up the list and threw it away.

"'Ankur' wasn't at the top of the list…but seriously, if you were to have children then what would you call them?" asked Ankur as he began cooking some meat opposite us.

"I don't like kids – simple! They cry like there's no tomorrow when they're young, they throw mood swings when they get older and then when they're adults they forget about you!" I cried.

"Well that's a little bluntly put…they're not as bad as you say," murmured Farah.

"Ooh! The first argument, can I watch? The first argument always the worst!" cried Ankur.

"What's with all this all this talk about kids anyway, you and Farah just friends, right?" asked Shirin. She was sitting in the corner, her wrist was getting better but she couldn't strain it by taking several plates and dishes around but so she didn't lack company she stayed around us.

"Well with what I saw yesterday…" started Ankur.

"Oh so you can see through that fringe!" I pointed out sarcastically. Ankur put a stupid face on and pulled his fringe apart to show he had a pair of sharp bluish-grey eyes – odd considering his Indian origin.

"As I was saying, Shirin, before I was rudely interrupted, I saw these two getting all lovey dovey yesterday evening," said Ankur. I found Shirin's reaction a little delayed and quiet.

"Oh." She muttered quietly, followed by, "I see." It seemed quite obvious to me Shirin wasn't too pleased with what had happened – she probably found it all slightly soppy and stomach turning – she was after all seventeen. Farah seemed to understand that Shirin wasn't particularly keen on the subject so she quickly changed it, and I was glad that she did so.

"Anyway, Ankur, with the matter of our pay, what are the chances of a rise by a small percent?" she asked. I could tell Ankur was raising one of his eyebrows suspiciously.

"By how much exactly?" asked Ankur. Farah tried to keep her voice somewhat casual.

"Oh not that much…about fifty percent," she muttered quietly but loud enough for Ankur to hear. He looked blank for a few moments but then a large grin grew on his face.

"Oh you are such a laugh Farah, now if you just excuse me for a moment," he said and then took the dish he had prepared out of the kitchen.

"You know, I really don't think he was taking us seriously," said Farah akimbo-ing, annoyed at the situation.

"True…Shirin, go to Amalendu and demand a raise," I said pointing at Shirin.

"What? Why do I have to ask?" she asked.

"Because he broke your little teenage heart and now he's going to feel guilty if he doesn't give us a pay rise, it's called emotional blackmail," explained Farah. Shirin stood.

"You sure know a lot about all this blackmail and under-hand stuff for a princess," she muttered. "I'm not going, let's talk about something else…so, Prince, aren't you all worried about our stalker then?" she asked. I thought about the question; if I said no then it would be a lie because I was scared of the women I had seen yesterday, she could be following us, she seemed to know everything about us; yet if I said I was scared and that I was worried, then that would be me admitting to myself that I was scared and then it would be the only thing on my mind.

"She wouldn't dare hurt us, we probably won't see her again, Ayodhya is far too big to come across her," I muttered. Amalendu suddenly entered, he looked a little pitiful.

"Um, the Cook told me about how you wanted a rise in pay. Well, I understand that you have worked hard and all and I really appreciate it but right now, I really can't be increasing your pay. However, I know I've never given you a day off and I suppose you deserve one so how about you have the rest of the day off, it isn't really busy anyway," suggested Amalendu. He had barely finished talking before we were walking out of the kitchen!

"Okay, I suggest we go first to the market place then we can move on to the baths and then – " started Farah as I closed the door to the tavern. It was good to be out of the white overalls and back in my own Persian clothes – one problem with them though was that they did show my Persian origin and I couldn't go anywhere without wearing my cloak. Shirin's black clothes were much more neutral and I didn't even think they were Persian so she could walk around wearing them freely and Farah's black dress was Indian so she had nothing to worry about. It was nearly midday and the sun was beating down horribly, I considered putting my hood up but I severely doubted that it would help. As it was midday and very hot a lot of people were retreating home to sleep out the hottest part of the day, and as Farah finished her list, she, as well as the rest of us realised that it was going to be hard to fulfil.

Eventually, after finding that the streets of Ayodhya were empty except our three lonely bodies, we retreated into the back streets to hide from the heat. Shirin had been rather unusually quiet for most of the day, but suddenly she piped up and came out with a question.

"Have either of you two…ever liked someone a lot but you feel a horrible pain because you know that their feelings aren't mutual?" she asked, she was in the middle of Farah and I. I nodded, Farah knew I was referring to her. "Hurt, didn't it?" Shirin mumbled.

"I guess so, why? Have you got a thing for someone?" I asked. Shirin shook her head slowly after some hesitation. Why was she being so quiet? I missed the old Shirin, the one that would make me smile and would lighten any situation. I suddenly froze, like I had done yesterday, yet everyone copied this time as a chill went up my spine as someone talked behind me.

"I can never get over the incredibly touching things that come out of your mouth Shirin," said a woman's voice. _The _woman's voice. We turned around to see her. Stood tall, in her flowing black cloak with his witchingly dark eyes. I drew my swords quickly, Farah followed suit by drawing an arrow and Shirin took a more an offensive stance.

"Why are you following us?" I immediately demanded, she got away the first time; it wasn't going to happen again. She didn't draw a weapon and this worried me slightly; she had already proven her power of teleportation, she could easily produce another box of tricks.

"I am not following you, we always just happen to meet by pure coincidence," she said, the corner of lips pricking up into a dark smile.

"Oh sure, we're going to believe that. What's your name?" demanded Shirin.

"I am Damini," the woman said placing her hand on her chest, "There is no reason for you to introduce yourself, I already know who you are. I simply want to help you on your journey," she said.

"That didn't seem so yesterday when you appeared to be threatening me with Farah's death," I warned.

"It is odd, isn't it? How the mind will presume and assume things," she said. We were all still ready to attack; we weren't going to back down. "Let me explain, put your weapons away and listen for a few moments," she said. Reluctantly, and slowly, I took my guard down, as did Farah yet I still sensed some edginess in Shirin. Damini stepped forward.

"As I said, I am called Damini. Prince, you probably have figured out that I have the properties of a sand creature. That is because I have mastered these powers throughout my life. I have studied the Sands and the history behind them and if you understand something completely then you can use it to your total advantage. I understand how time works and because of this I can bend it and manipulate it in amazing ways. I can transfer my body to a timeless state that I create with my own mental ability. When I'm in this state I take in all knowledge of everything, I know about how you released the Sands and now how you are trying to make Farah remember, now I also saw that Shirin denied her knowledge of the exact site of the temple you wish to go to. Now, as I said before I do have all knowledge of everything and I wish to help you," explained Damini, there was something about her voice, the darkness; it struck too much fear in me.

"Listen, I may have lived in a palace my whole life, but I know that no one does something for someone without getting something in return," said Farah.

"I am not asking for anything in return, I myself wish to see the temple, I know it is not a myth," said Damini. Shirin stepped forward.

"Right, so let me just check this, you, who scared the Prince to paranoia yesterday is now offering to help us get to the Temple of Sight, keeping in mind that as a group we have only known you for…let's say three minutes, and you want practically nothing in return, and, oh yes, and there is always the matter that we have a great dagger that a lot of people have been after recently – people like zombies infested with sand and Viziers with bad throat hygiene," said Shirin. Damini smirked slightly.

"Well, though you know little about me you are going to have to put your trust in me because the Persian army is awaiting outside all major cities waiting to attack, including this one," she smiled deviously.

"What?" I asked, was she honestly telling the truth?

"Well, being the son of one of the most powerful kings in the known world, he obviously is going to go to great lengths to find you. He has been working his way across India to find you. The king has already sent his armies to Amber and number of other major Indian cities and they are waiting. They will attack soon and by this evening, Ayodhya will be red with blood. So, you now have no choice but to trust me, I can have supplies, horses, everything prepared within the hour, just meet me at the north gate of the city by two o' clock and then we can leave, if we travel at a constant speed then we should remain ahead of the armies and arrive at the Temple in about two months time, maybe less," she said. I stayed silent. The decision rested on my shoulders. If she was correct, then I would have to trust her, but if she was lying, then I was truly putting our lives into the claws of witch. I made the decision and again, I was putting my trust and faith in someone I barely knew.

"Fine, we will meet you there, but if you even consider betraying any one of us, then I will cleave you in two!" I warned harshly. Shirin and Farah were taken back by what I said and were most definitely going to have some harsh words with me once Damini left. Damini's mouth moved into a smile, she turned away, with folded arms, and began to walk away slowly before teleporting away with a black flash.

"Okay putting this as nicely as I can –!" started Shirin calmly.

"What the heck are you thinking you moronic oaf!" Farah yelled. I looked at her slightly startled.

"Pardon?"

"Oh so you wish to me to put it in other words, fine then, you, my friend, are a dolt, a dunce, a fool, a blockhead; what in the name of my father's lands were you thinking?" asked Farah, quietly but sharply, she was walking towards me, so I was walking backwards only to find a wall behind me.

"Farah, this appears the only way to get to the Temple quickly, we have been moving far too slow recently and this way it will be done totally free of charge!" I tried to reason.

"I don't care about the Temple! My father is at risk of being killed! Hundreds of my people will die!" she cried. I saw her point and I then realised, that once again, people were going to die because of my actions…

We sat in the tavern, we still had a little while left before having to go to the north gate of the city, my father's armies were probably waiting at the southern edge of the city. Amalendu had cooked us a meal with Ankur's help and although the dish was an absolute culinary genius, it tasted bitter, as I knew that the makers of it were probably going to be among those who would die. Amalendu wouldn't last at all if he were attacked, he would try and reason…and then probably get his throat slit. Ankur may have more chance but he was still new to fighting. Then the thoughts of Amalendu's wife-to-be came across my mind and again, I felt terrible. Both Shirin Farah were throwing daggers at me, glaring terribly. I felt so low and so terrible – I felt like I was sacrificing so many people just so I could get what I wanted! I could never create an excuse for the death of many…I had to tell the Cook.

"Um, Ankur, could I have a word please, you too, Amalendu?"

After I had told them everything, they stood, blank-faced, blinking occasionally.

"Uhh…so what you are basically trying to tell us is?" asked Ankur in his normal low calm voice.

"That you've gotta get out of here now!" I cried, we were in the kitchen but I was sure that people in the dinning area could hear.

"But I just can't get up and leave with Daya," said Amalendu.

"Well you could leave now and stay low for a bit, don't you have any family to stay with?" I asked.

"Yes, to the east of here in a small secluded area, I suppose we could go there…uh, one thing though," said Amalendu.

"Yes?"

"Are you really a Persian prince and is Farah the Maharajah's daughter and Shirin isn't really a thief is she?" he asked.

"Yes, yes and of course she is, didn't the whole black clothes give it away?" I replied.

"Well there are loads more things I want to ask…like, did you honestly attack Amber?" asked Amalendu.

"Yes we did and now you really need to be going, my father's army will attack in about an hour so make a move now!" I ordered. The two left the kitchen and began to usher everyone out of the tavern. I felt slightly better now, at least I had saved the lives of three people…but still…that wouldn't make up for the other hundreds of people…

We said our goodbyes to Ankur, Amalendu and Daya in the centre of the city; they headed east while we went north. As I passed the crowds, the twist in my stomach seemed to contort more as I felt even more worried. I eventually caught sight of Damini, waiting actually outside of the city with a number of horses, each holding baskets stocked up with supplies. We left the city to then meet up with her. Worry was probably seen on all our faces as she commented on it.

"For three people that are going too avoid all the destruction, you seem hardly happy," she pointed out mounting one of the four horses she had. None of us answered her or explained why we were so upset – she knew perfectly well why we looked the way we did.

As we departed from the area and began venturing further away from Ayodhya, I looked back at it and knew eventually my father would turn it into a shadow of its former self. I didn't want anybody to get hurt, but I knew this journey could never be easy…no matter how much I wanted it to be. I should have been aware, since the day Shirin and I left Persepolis; that nothing would come easily and that I was going to have to place my trust in people I wouldn't normally. I could tell by the uneasiness given off by Shirin, that she was the most uncomfortable with Damini, no one could just learn the things Shirin could do, it was something you were born with. Maybe I was becoming incredibly foolish now, maybe I wanted something so badly that I was becoming blind to what I was doing. I sighed heavily. It didn't matter now…we were getting closer to the Temple of Sight and I had to place my trust in our mysterious guide. Soon Farah would remember and then…well, then I was supposed to die, but time would tell…

_I'm going to skip forward now so the next chapter will be set when some time has passed. _


	21. Here, at last

_Like said before, this is now set some time after the last chapter and this is from Shirin's view. Sorry for the wait. _

**Chapter Twenty-one: Here, at last**

As the days past, it appeared to be getting colder and sometimes to the point were my body was so numb I wished to pass out to escape it all. Our guide, Damini, wouldn't ever cut us any slack and we would constantly travel through the harshest of weathers. One night there was a terrible storm, one of our horses almost died and all four of us were in danger with the lightning striking across the land yet even then we continued our ascent of the mountains. I knew and believed that I had changed, and I was unsure whether it was for the best or for the worse. The once annoyance that came with seeing them together had now turned into a sharp pain, and that was when I was around them, thoughts of them in privacy was sheer agony for me. I knew I hated her (and I am not talking about Damini) and slowly I was considering killing her (usually on an occasional moment when my thoughts did drift to madness); but I could never do that…I would be misplacing the Prince's trust, and I didn't want to do that, but also, I didn't want to do Dahaka's bidding or seriously harm her because she hadn't really done anything wrong. I found it easier now to enter that world, the world where I could talk to Dahaka. I knew he (Dahaka) wasn't a man; but he would always take on that form when I was in that world, well, not entirely, he would hide in a cloak where I never saw his face. Once I had got incredibly angry with him. I was screaming at him to tell me who Damini was and why she was here. I always believed he knew and that he had sent her; sent her to ruin everything. In my sheer anger, I grabbed his cloak, only for everything to bleed into darkness and for me to find the cloak was empty. He never answered questions about Damini, he didn't answer many questions and sometimes I was sure that I only went to that place to just feel the importance that I got from being there. Dahaka would occasionally talk about an empress, but I never really listened; but I had learnt that although Dahaka was powerful, he himself had little control over time itself, and so, I came to the conclusion that he himself was a slave to the power of the Sands. I was sat on a large chair, casually and not artificially, I was sat so my legs dangled over one arm; I always felt different in this place, in looks mainly; I always felt taller but maybe it was just an illusion that the yellow dress that I wore gave off. Dahaka was sat, on a small but cushioned stool staring at the hourglass. His head, which was covered by the hood, rested on a clenched fist, the hypnotic glow of the Sand gleaming on the cloak and giving off an unreal warmth.

"Why _is _she here? Damini, I mean. Did you send her to test me?" I asked, turning my head that rested on the other arm of the chair to look at him. He didn't answer and continued to stare at the enigmatic Sands. I would always consider him an excellent listener if not a rubbish talker. "I do not like her," I muttered now looking up at the grey but tall ceiling of the large if not enclosed room.

"Why?" asked Dahaka in his voice of natural darkness.

"Because she's a bully and she's mean, she makes me do a load of chores!" I cried, this was true; Damini always thought of me now as someone that shouldn't have been around for I now had no purpose, and so, she would make me do a lot of menial and servile tasks like washing and cooking, even when my wrist was strained she would make me carry things of terrible weight. My wrist was better though it still had a painful twinge when I bent it backwards. Dahaka made a little noise that proved that he believed there was another reason. I got up off the chair. "I should be getting back now," I said, sometimes I wished he would say something that would make me believe, if not just for a few seconds, that he was human for if he were human then so was I. "We're climbing a mountain range by the way, they call this place the Himalayas. It is hard because it is so cold…I wish I was back in Persia…it seems like such a distant memory now but it was only…it's been nearly four months…" I murmured as it dawned on me that this journey hadn't just been a few weeks as it had seemed for me. Surely if a love for someone didn't die out within a few weeks then it must be worth fighting for. I looked at Dahaka. "Show me what has happened in Amber," I ordered. He produced a slightly bent picture in mid-air of burning Amber, I had seen the picture many times before but it rarely changed, I always saw the Persians and Indians fighting and the lands burning. I was glad Farah never saw this because it would upset her greatly, I never deeply wanted to hurt her but only for the Prince's sake. "And the Maharajah? What has happened to him?" I asked.

"He, along with the rest of his family are still alive, none of Farah's family have died," explained Dahaka. That was all I wanted to hear, I knew Amalendu, his wife-to-be and Ankur were all fine. Dahaka informed me a few days ago that Daya and Amalendu had married, I was glad that through all the madness they were still well. I knew I had to get back, I found that in between my time here and my time in the real word, so to say; I got little rest for when I would rest in the real world I would come to this world. I really did need to get back, Damini had said that we were near the temple and that we would be there shortly, I looked forward to it, I could find my memories as could Farah and another thing I looked forward to was learning the Prince's name, it would be odd calling him a name though as I had got so use to saying 'Prince' or 'Cheveme'. With a flash, I disappeared.

"Shirin!" I heard the Prince cry. I sat up in my tent. The Himalayas were incredibly cold and rather snowy so to make sure our tents stayed in place we had dig indents in the ground and it was best to wrap up because it amazed me that though near India the mountains were terribly cold and as we got higher up them, it was harder to breath, except for Damini and Farah who appeared to have some sort of natural immunity to the lack of oxygen. It wasn't always cold, when we first started the ascent of the mountains, the weather had been quite tamed but as we got higher, it got colder and the snowier. The Prince suddenly entered my tent, he was wearing his cloak and clutching it tightly so it stayed around him, I couldn't figure out why he appeared angry but I soon figured out why. "You were on clothes-washing duty! Where are my pants and shirt!" he cried. I was on clothes-washing duty, I had to boil the snow and it took ages, and it took even longer to get the clothes dry. Damini, however, never trusted me with washing her clothes and she never seemed to change her black clothes either. We had gone through a small village where we had bought some clothes a while ago, but Damini didn't buy any extra clothes. The Prince had also bought me a sword with a short but sharp blade; I felt this showed he still didn't trust Damini.

"Well they aren't dry yet are they?" I murmured, tired and exhausted, I felt terribly fatigued but would anyone be nice to me? Of course not!

"Well what I'm I suppose to do in the meantime?" he cried.

"Well go wear that black stuff you bought," I ordered and shooed him outside. I went to the back of my tent and curled up, hoping to catch a few hours of sleep; however, a call from Damini diminished any thoughts of sleep from my mind. I got to my feet and quickly went to see what she wanted. She was stood, wrapped up in her black cloak as usual; she had bought a spear from the village we had passed through and she used it to help her maintain her balance in the thick snow. Her face had become slightly pale and her deep-red lipstick didn't exactly help. She rarely talked to any of us – except if she was giving an order out. I never felt safe around her, none of us knew enough about her to fully put our trust in her and so we always stayed reasonably aware.

"Go and start packing up, we need to start moving now," she ordered with her voice of darkness and authority. I began the long job of packing everything away. I started with my tent, I peered briefly over my shoulder and I saw her watching with her callous eyes. Why did she always watch me? Occasionally, the idea that she was just as scared of me as I was of her came into my mind, but for me this just seemed unrealistic. She: a woman with amazing un-human abilities and a weapon from every known category, me: an unarmed kid. In a fight, I think the outcome could easily be predicted.

Once packed, we continued our slow trek of the mountain range. The Prince, Farah and I had arranged a rota of who was to guard the dagger, today it was my turn and the dagger rested in its scabbard at my side. The Prince was wearing dark clothes now, his other clothes were saturated and were lying in a basket that one of our horses carried – we didn't ride on them, it would probably tire them out severely what with all the supplies they were carrying. The Prince didn't wear a shirt under his new armour therefore he hadn't any sleeves – meaning he was freezing cold but he wouldn't admit it. He tied a lot of excess red fabric around his hips, the red seemed to co-ordinate well with the black; his change in clothes did admittedly give him a severely darker look. Suddenly Damini stopped, we carried on moving until her actions registered with us and we came to a slightly disordered stop.

"Hey, why'd we stop?" I asked. Damini turned around.

"We are approaching an area of extreme danger. We should split, Farah and the Prince will take a safer route, you and I will take another route and deal with the creatures near the temple," she ordered glaring ferociously at me.

"Well why don't you and Shirin take the safe route with us too?" asked the Prince suspiciously.

"The safer route will simply delay your arrival, Shirin and I are taking a route that is much quicker; by time you arrive Shirin and I would have dealt with the guardians of the temple – this is totally for your safety," said Damini.

"Well in that case, we all can take the faster route and stay in a group," the Prince compromised.

"You will hardly be able to fight the guardians of the temple – both of you will be disembowelled within seconds, you aren't fighters," said Damini. I could see the surprise on the Prince's face.

"Neither is Shirin," said Farah, the Prince pulled me towards the two of them. "Shirin is staying with us,"

"Shirin has the same powers as me and will be able to destroy any creature, she should stay with me. Why do you argue? This is a simple matter that you have blown completely out of proportion," said Damini. The Prince looked at her darkly; I had never realised how much he had grown up since I had met him back in Persepolis and even Farah had matured from that young princess she once was. The Prince's eyes flicked over to me for a couple of moments. I didn't want to be left alone with Damini and I tried to transfer my pleas to my eyes, yet, the Prince didn't see them.

"Fine. What is this other route?" he asked. Something heavy dropped inside of me. Damini gave him some directions, his eyes kept focused on her but I kept staring at him. It wasn't until I felt Damini's hand with her elongated fingers curl round my shoulder and pull me away did I realise that I was actually clutching his hand tightly. I trusted him…why did he let me down? I stumbled backwards for a few seconds, Damini's long claw-like hands digging into my shoulder painfully, before turning around and wading through the deep snow.

I walked silently with Damini, shivering and uncomfortable from the wetness on my pants due to the snow. We were making a steep ascent and I could barely keep up. Damini had a quick pace and she managed to walk with complete ease, she never slipped unlike me. I tried asking her to wait yet it seemed pointless; her pace wouldn't slow at all. She was taller than I was and the snow didn't come up to her thighs like it did with me, and then when we had to do some serious climbing I could barely grab onto the ice-platforms that had formed – damn it! Why did I have to be so short! My fingers were turning blue with the cold and I was getting bad pins and needles in them – I couldn't feel much of my body but somehow I was still moving. If this was a short route then I didn't want to be on the long route. The blades of wind cut against my face as I walked, I fell on my knees several times as the harsh wind was stronger and knocked me down, and then I would look up, and would see Damini walking like it was everyday-weather conditions. I suddenly found I was gasping badly for air, no matter how many deep breathes I took in I still remained breathless and light-headed, and when I looked over my shoulder and saw how high how I climbed, to the point where clouds were hiding the ground below. I would feel so dizzy that I was sure I going to collapse…but I didn't. I finally heard Damini's crunches of footsteps in the snow stop. Gasping loudly, with blue fingers I managed to pull myself up one more level. I was on my knees now, my eyes were barely open for the gales made them sting but I saw and felt a slightly familiar glow and warmth. I wished to get up, but my body ignored my orders, no abnormal sand-creature-like move could drain me this much; this was just plain sheer agony. It appeared that when the Prince left me, my strength did too, but it didn't matter now, we must have been at the peak. I collapsed, my head smacking hard against the ice.

I couldn't have been out that long, as the Prince and Farah hadn't arrived yet. I lifted my head off the ice, I saw I had cut forehead and the blood was tracing its way down my face and onto the ice. I wiped it away with my wet sleeve and I managed to stumble to my feet. I saw in front of me, a golden, glowing, twisting vortex. I blinked at it, the golden/sepia colour reminded me of sand and then of the Sands of Time. I suddenly noticed how beautiful this place was; the sky seemed an almost perfect azure without a cloud in sight. I just stood in awe for a few moments, that was until I began hearing the metallic scratch of the sharpening of blades. I turned round to see Damini; she had removed her cloak and was using it to cushion a small mount of ice. She had removed the two daggers that were placed across her abdomen and was sat, drawing them across each other. Her iris and pupil were at the top of the white of her eyes, giving her a dark look. She glared at me, scraping the blades across each other, making them spark.

"Will the vortex take us to the Temple? Where are those guardians you talked about?" I asked. She stopped scraping the blades. She stood. I suddenly realised that she wasn't particularly in a good mood.

"You have the dagger, give it to me," she glared, she walked towards me.

"What?" I asked. I walked backwards, away from her.

"Give it to me. If you do then I'll make slitting your throat reasonably painless," she ordered. I shook my head – something that didn't agree with her. She lunged at me immediately. I fell to the ground but only just managed to avoid the two daggers by rolling away. Damini left the daggers lodged in the ice. I quickly removed the sword I had been given by the Prince. Damini removed her sword too, I couldn't understand why her attack had been such a shock to me; I had never trusted her from the start. Both our swords clashed together, I knew she was stronger than I was and I was sure I couldn't overpower her. I couldn't. She moved her foot swiftly across my feet, tripping me up, I hit the ground awkwardly and the sword was thrown from my grasp and toppled over the edge, it was on the ledge below, I could possibly jump down and get it but…the dagger! It had spun out of its scabbard and was in the centre of the small area our fight was taking place in. I tried to make a run for it, but I couldn't get up because of the ice…and I knew Damini wasn't going to let me get it either. She removed her axe; she raised it high in the air and sent it crashing down. It went straight through the flesh and bone of my hand and down into the ice, jamming my hand together with the ice! My eyes glazed quickly and then I let out a bone-chilling scream that made my throat feel completely raw, as if ravens with their claws had been shredding away at it. I squirmed in agony, but I found the more I moved the more it hurt. I heard Damini sheath her sword, she walked past me, she picked up the dagger that was only inches away from me, it sent a terrible anger through me – it seemed as though she was taunting me. She gave a sly smile, looking down at me before turning around and examining the dagger in more detail. I wasn't going to allow her to get away with this. I struggled but I managed to grab the handle of the axe, I moved it around and managed to get the blade out of the ice, and slowly, I pulled it out of my hand causing me an agonising and excruciating pain but I kept silent. I slowly stood up, keeping my balance. Damini suddenly realised and turned her head around.

"You really are a bitch." I muttered; I raised the axe and slashed it had across her face, she fell immediately. While she was down, I plunged the axe's blade into her abdomen! She cried out, twitched and writhed but eventually she stilled as a pool of blood began growing from her stomach and her grip on the dagger loosened. I grabbed the dagger and stumbled back a little before falling onto the ice.

"SHIRIN!" I heard the Prince scream from below, the footsteps of both the Prince and Farah grew louder as I saw the two suddenly pull themselves up onto the peak I was sat on.

"Why is it that exactly right after I kill weird-psycho-bitch you turn up?" I muttered quietly. The two rushed over to me after having taken in sight of the dead body of Damini.

"Shirin, what happened?" questioned Farah, she grabbed part of the Prince's cloak (he must have put it on after realising that he was terribly cold) and ripped some of and began wrapping it around my damaged hand, the pressure would stop the bleeding.

"I guess Damini wanted to give me a manicure…just she has really bad depth-perception," I mumbled.

"I knew she was evil! You both thought I totally trusted her but-" started the Prince immediately trying to defend himself.

"Shut up!" Farah and I yelled simultaneously. Our attentions turned to the vortex.

"So…I guess we have to go through that to get to the temple," the Prince said.

"Yep, there were no dangerous creatures by the way," I murmured. Farah grabbed my good hand and the Prince's left hand.

"Okay, well, let's walk through it, hope for the best, and if we die we'll blame it all on the Prince," she said as began dragging us towards it.

"I'm happy with that idea," I grinned somewhat darkly. We walked towards the vortex and as we stepped in it, we appeared to be overcome with light, as if we were teleporting.

We eased our eyes open. We took in our new setting. We seemed to be in some sort of cavern. The walls were white solid ice; the spikes of ice spiralling around and twisting out of the walls. It wasn't a particularly large cavern but I saw as I looked up the ceiling was completely clear and I could see the clear blue sky that was reflected on a small circle of ice that we were stood on. I then saw the temple…it was at one end of the cavern. We walked to it, staring at it completely amazed. We were here, at last, after four months we were finally here! The Temple of Sight had a number of steps to it; the steps appeared to be of almost pure gold but it appeared to be of stone texture. In total, I saw that there were three hexagon-shaped platforms that separated the staircase to the temple that was high up. Each platform had a grey stone plaque and there was one right in front of the stairs – it was written all in Indian so I couldn't read it terribly well - but also it appeared to some sort of very old Indian. The temple appeared rather small, it was made out of stone and it could be seen that its design was primarily Indian with various Indian design going around the walls, however there was a large oriental pagoda-style red spire on the top of the temple. There were no doors and I could see the entrance led straight into a gold corridor. I saw that at each side of the entrance there were painted on eyes, obviously representing the memories that were held inside. I found it hard to remove my eyes off the golden temple that seemed to have a mystical aura around it.

"Memories are never lost, they have to be awakened and be refreshed, they have to be made new, so come forward and receive your new memories," said Farah, I looked at her, she was reading the plaque in front of us. The Prince was about to step forward and go up the step but Farah grabbed his hand.

"Wait…Shirin, is it safe to go ahead?" Farah asked looking at me. I knew it probably wasn't as I had heard the steps of the temple were the hardest to get past. I looked at her.

"Well even if it isn't, we're going to have to go ahead eventually. But let's rest for now," I said. Farah nodded; it was for the best; we were all far too tired to carry on.

As I 'slept' I met up with Dahaka. I was going on and on about how I was right, how I knew how Damini was evil. However, I suddenly stopped as Dahaka murmured something from under his cloak.

"A dagger. A staff. A sword. A medallion. A hourglass." He said slowly. I looked at him.

"What?" I asked not having a clue what he was on about.

"What do you think Damini would do with all of them?" Dahaka asked. I was silent; I couldn't understand what he was talking about. "Maybe…she wasn't evil after all, maybe, she was trying to help the Prince and Farah…just not you," said Dahaka calmly. I turned to look at him. What did he mean? I suddenly didn't like Dahaka's presence; I found him an annoyance because he would never tell me something properly – I knew he was the type of person that would let me make a mistake and then explain later. I stared at him.

"I have to get back," I muttered. Was Dahaka trying to explain something to me? Or was he just trying to mess with my mind. I didn't care, we had nearly finished what we had started out to do, nothing was going to stop us from completing this successfully…or at least that was what I thought. I teleported away.

I didn't open my eyes but I listened to the voices of the Prince and Farah.

"It is funny…I never meant to go on this journey and end up feeling like this towards you. Do you remember what I said on the outskirts of Amber?" asked Farah's voice, softly. I suddenly had the great want to fall asleep.

"That you only shot me because I had it coming?" asked the Prince – the world's greatest mood-killer!

"No, that I wasn't going on this journey to end up falling in love with you," she said tenderly. I opened my eyes slightly. It was night-time and I could tell because the cavern was only lit by the glowing moonlight that shone onto the small pool that had obviously iced over, the rest of the cavern except for that area was filled with snow. Where exactly was this place? From the surroundings, I guessed we were still in the Himalayas, so maybe we were deep within the mountains or something – it didn't matter, as long as we were here. I looked over to the Prince and Farah. They were doing the whole lovey-dovey-staring-in-each-others'-glazed-eyes look.

"The horses," I murmured quietly but loud enough for them hear. They turned round to look at me; I sat up. "What did you do with all the horses? You took mine and Damini's," I asked.

"Oh, when we heard you scream we ran and left them behind," explained the Prince.

"Oh well…just means we're going to be hungry for a long time…and you will never get your old clothes back," I muttered. I turned to look at the temple. "We should try getting in now, that is, if that is okay with you Farah," I said looking at her; she smiled.

"Well I'm hardly trying to put it off I'm I?" she smiled.

We stood in front of the steps, Farah was reading the plaque in more detail - we wanted to make sure that nothing would take us by surprise when we went onto the first platform.

"According to this," she started, "all persons wanting to have their memories made new, so to say, are going to have to undergo some sort of trial alone,"

"Well…it doesn't sound that bad," I murmured.

"Well it actually says 'the eternal spirits of the Temple of Sight, the spirits that see deep into the past and memories of all, will trial the minds of the memory-seeking persons to see the reason why the memories are needed; the trial may force those to a state of hysterical madness, to a point where they see life as a futile spiral of darkness, and they will reside in a hellish nightmare where a dark ocean will consume them' but I think my version sounded more reassuring," explained Farah.

"Oh…well, I'm sure it can't be that bad," I mumbled. I wasn't trying to convince Farah, I was trying to convince myself - for the spirits Farah had talked of would know that I wanted my memories restored too. I saw Farah's hand was in the Prince's, I had no one to help me, but then again, when we would have this trial we would be alone without anyone's help. We all moved simultaneously onto the first platform. For about a second nothing happened and I immediately believed it wasn't my turn to be put through the test, but as I black out, I realised, I was wrong.

_Okay, although I will be writing the next chapters, I can't put them up until my internet is sorted out properly, I was suppose to have had Broadband installed today but nothing can be done until after New Year which will be the next time I can update. Subsequently, my home e-mail isn't working either so if anybody has sent me anything after the 9th December then I wouldn't have received it, plus, I can't send any e-mails out so if anyone has been written to me expecting an answer then I promise you I'm not trying to be rude __. By the way, to the reviewer (I apologise, I am doing this on a computer where the internet isn't working) who said I was being a little long-winded, I have taken this into consideration and I will try and make my writing less long-winded. Well, that's all._

**_MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! 8D _**


	22. Freak

_Okay, I'll keep this note as short as I can because I know you're all annoyed at me for not updating sooner but I have had broadband installed today so this is the first time the internet has been working for me in ages. Okay, now the trials really aren't just full of violence, they'reare more psycological (yes I probably have mispelt that)- I have told you from now so don't start saying you were just expecting dicaptitations and blood (if you want that go read my other fic) . One reviewer was finding it hard to understand the whole Shirin/Dahaka thing so I'll do my best to explain it here, a different version of Shirin was created before time, it is the spirit of this being that is part of the Shirin that we all know. This other version was created by Dahaka and because it still resides within our Shirin and is part of her, it technically makes Dahaka her creator or father, Shirin's physical body isn't connected at all to the Dahaka though. It is hard to make it easier to read parts when Dahaka is talking to Shirin, but just think of it as the Dahaka is a voice in her head- does that help at all? Also, another reader, called Armani (cool name - I think it's Persian) said something about more romance - this fic is nearly finished but they'll be romance in the sequel. Sorry I can't remember your names, anyway, here is the next chapter (you may need to read the last chapter just to remind yourself, yes I know these four chapters are a little weird, I do hope you understand them)._

**Chapter Twenty-two: Freak**

I eased my eyes open to find myself stood alone in a room. The room had an air of familiarity about it, the walls were stone and just off white and there was a large open window, I could see calm but empty lands, the window seemed to overlooking some sort of courtyard but from what I saw outside of it, the land was pretty secluded, yet it was warm - I must have been back in Persia. It was such a plain room, and the bare floorboards didn't help. I looked around and found to my surprise a young girl (from her size I would have said she was about seven, she seemed quite meagre) sitting on a low bed. She was wearing a slight mismatch of clothes, a old black worn skirt that had been darned with a number of white and yellow fabrics, a sleeveless top that like the skirt was black but it was too big for her and hadn't been made very well, she hadn't any shoes but she wore some black finger-less glove and some black strips of fabric had been tied around her skinny arms. She must have had short hair for a grey bandanna was tied tightly around her head, not revealing any hair at all. Her head was in her hands and I could hear her weeping. I knelt down and tried to say some words of comfort, but my words seemed unheard as if I wasn't even there. This whole scene felt so familiar - I was sure I had seen it somewhere before. However, as the girl raised her head and a pair of striking green eyes stared through me, I suddenly realised that I hadn't seen this scene before, I had been in it; I was the girl.

I just blinked as I stared at the dark oval face that was exactly like mine, the features just slightly less developed. Her eyes were glazed and the marks of where the tears had flowed were obvious. I looked at the bandanna and the dark memory came back to me and it began to replay itself in my mind.

I had never meant to steal the young apprentice warrior's chain - I didn't realise it was his father's and that it meant a lot to him. I'd taken it and I'd kept it but when he found out he was so unbelievably angry at me, he screamed at me for ages, saying he would have killed me when I was a baby and that he would make my life a living hell. He really did, I hadn't any official guardian, but a kind chief-warrior, called Behnam, treated me like I was his daughter; at least, he did until the apprentice warrior (he was called Atash) set it up to look like I had stolen a very important ring (it was his engagement ring - I lived in a small secluded temple with a number of warriors all in training, they stayed there for many years and Behnam, though engaged to be wed, was staying at the temple until he had earned the title of a skilled warrior) of Behnam's and ever since then Behnam distanced himself from me and never talked to me again. It was from this point that all the warriors that had always hated me could let it show. However, the torture didn't just stop there. Atash was talking to me, it was the evening and most of the warriors were outside sparing in the coolness the evening brought. The room was a sparing room but it was empty except for the young-child-me and Atash whom was about fifteen. I hadn't a clue how I had gotten in there, I would never go in a room with Atash; he must have seen me passing and asked me to come in. I stood while Atash was holding a torch; he was making sure the flame stayed tame. It felt like I, the older me that is, was stood in the room watching. I remembered everything that was said perfectly.

"Shirin," said Atash calmly, the young child that was I looked up at Atash. "Do you know what a freak is?" he asked. The child shook her head. "Well what would you say a freak is?" asked Atash. The child stayed silent and then shrugged. "Well if you are a little freak of nature, you're abnormal, a mutation of what is normal, remind you of anyone?" asked Atash. I knew what he was saying, but the child didn't and I knew what would eventually happen. The child shook her head. "Well it does remind me of someone, someone who can move to different places without walking or anything, do you know who I'm talking about?" he asked. The child shook her head again. Atash suddenly took a harsher tone and grabbed the child's arm so she couldn't run. "YOU! You are a freak!" he screamed in her face. I knew for a fact that if this was actually happening again then I would take a knife off a wall and kill Atash, but this was just a memory.

"I want to go now," she murmured, the young me. A sly grin appeared on Atash's face, he looked at the young girl, she held the ponytail that was in her hair, as a child I had beautiful long black hair, I treasured it so much; brushing it up ten times a day in hope it would remain sleek and beautiful. Atash knew how much I loved my hair, how I treasured it. His hand moved from the child's arm to her ponytail. I saw the younger version of me trying to pull away but Atash kept a tight hold of her hair. He moved the torch so the flame caught my hair. It was agony watching it happen, seeing me scream as the fire burnt my scalp. Why did Atash have to hate me so much? It wasn't my fault I couldn't help but take things I didn't even particularly want and as for my abnormalities, I'd never asked to be born with them!

I opened my eyes and I found I was still in the bedroom with the young me sitting on the bed. Luckily, Behnam had been returning from a fencing class and he put the fire out, some of my hair hadn't been burnt but the ends and most of the hair was all frizzled. Atash said that I had been messing with the torch and that my hair had got caught in it; I didn't bother to put up any defence, I didn't say anything, even when Behnam asked me, I didn't say anything. For a little while, Behnam was kind to me again. He had to shave my hair so the hair would grow again; he promised it would grow back so it was even more beautiful then before. I knew he probably believed me over Atash, yet there was always the reminder that I had 'stolen' his ring and because of this, our friendship could never be re-built. I remember that from that day I didn't talk to anyone at all. Atash continued to make things worse, he turned the young students at the temple against me, and whenever I would pass, they would begin to chant 'Freak! Freak!'. I looked at the young version of me sitting on the bed. I saw the anger in her eyes, the hatred for Atash. She got up and she opened the door to her room, I knew what I had done and I knew what it was that I was going to see again, yet nevertheless, I followed. She walked through the corridors, receiving glares and stares from those who passed. The young students whispered rumours to their friends. No one seemed to be able to see me, maybe I wasn't here, maybe I was dreaming; it sure felt like a dream, things seemed soundless and vague. She entered a room, there were five junior warriors in the room; they were all facing away from the entrance. One of them was Atash. I saw the eyes of the young me drifting over to were a number of weapons were laid down. She moved and struggled to pick up one of the smaller swords - I had never been a particularly strong child. She moved silently, keeping the sword above the ground so it wouldn't drag. She stood behind Atash; I saw the bitterness that she felt appear on her face. She struck Atash, but only with the flat side of the sword, she knew she couldn't harm him badly with the sword, I remember thinking that I wasn't strong enough to kill him with a sword because I could barely hold it. Atash fell with a cry and the startle spread among the other warriors. The child immediately wrapped her hands around Atash's neck.

"I'll kill you! I hate you! I'll kill you!" she screamed. I remember thinking, that I didn't care how, I just wanted Atash dead, dead for what he had done; life had been hard enough without him adding more pain into it. Suddenly the walls of the world began to drip down into blackness and the figures all faded away until I was alone in this blackness.

"Your life," I heard a voice whisper. It felt like it was right next to me, yet no one was stood by me. "A tragic mystery." The voice was that of a woman and it appeared to flutter around me.

"Who are you?" I questioned. An odd spirit-like creature seemed to form in front of me. The creature wasn't physical; I seemed to be aware that if I stretched out to grab it, my hand would just follow through it and end up back in the black canvas that was this world. The creature was a pure white and its features could be seen but seemed somewhat obscured, and the eyes, the eyes were just black hollows. I had never seen anything like it. "Was it you that showed me that stuff?" I asked after realising that the creature didn't have a name. The creature didn't say anything but words that belonged to its voice seemed to stream into my head.

"Why did you try and murder someone?" the voice asked.

"I…I didn't try and murder him," I muttered in my defence.

"But you tried to kill him, therefore, you tried to murder him," said the voice. It seemed to have a slight edge to it and it sounded very 'judging' but pure nevertheless.

"Why'd you show me that? You know that I hated that part of my life," I asked. It was funny in some way, I said 'you know', as if I really did know for a fact that this being knew everything about me. There was no answer. I stared at the being and then turned round, I began to walk away, hoping to find an exit from this abyss.

"Freak." I suddenly stopped as the word entered my head. I turned round sharply to find the creature right next to me, I backed away a little in surprise.

"What did you just say?" I asked sharply.

"It's a word that makes you go crazy, a word that hits a nerve, you hate being called that," said the voice. I turned around again and began walking. "But when you go into depth about you, Shirin, it is quite the operative word," fluttered the voice. I shut my eyes, trying to block out the words, but as I closed my eyes, I seemed to just fall deeper into the blackness. "You are a coward, you run because it is easier, you are a thief, an outcaste. You never face up to your problems," the voice said. I muttered for the voice to be quiet, maybe because deep inside I actually believed everything it said, or maybe, everything it was saying was true. I shook the thought.

"Who else would you kill? Will you kill those two with you?" asked the voice. I stood still and turned around with a perplexed face.

"What? What sort of stupid question is that? I asked.

"What will you do if you see something after drinking from that fountain that you don't like, and then Farah will have her memories back and she will be happy, while you are left wallowing in your self-pity," the voice said, it wasn't taunting me, or at least it didn't sound like it was yet everything it said still hurt. "You are Dahaka's assassin, killing is what you were born for so why not just do it?" asked the voice. This finally made me snap. I turned to look at the spirit-like creature that, again, was right beside me.

"Who are you to judge me? Yes, you can see right into my past, but you can't see into my mind! Have you ever woken up wishing you hadn't and in the event that you have, were you seven years of age? Have you ever seen a mother and father cradle a child and wish it were you, or have you ever seen that and you can't understand it because you don't know what love is? Have you been made to walk around with shame but you can't understand how you've earned it?" I asked. The being was silent. "Well until you do and you have felt what I felt as a child, then you can go and judge me, but until then you should stay silent. I am not Dahaka's assassin; I am Shirin. I may have been a servant of Dahaka's before this life but I'm not any longer - but I have to know about my other identity! I need to know who I was; I have to get my memories back! None of your words will twist me, I will do what I want to," I ordered. I stood still; even I was slightly surprised by the strength that was in my words. The 'walls' of the shapeless world began to drip down into whiteness, with a slight mystical flash, the ghostly creature changed into a human, or at least, what I guessed was a human. 'It' became a 'she'. She was quite beautiful if not a little strange looking; her eyes seemed a little too far spaced out and long, but other than that she was pretty with long flowing white hair, I had never seen anyone with that type of hair nor had I seen someone who had such a white skin pigment. She wore some sort of white garment that wasn't Persian or Indian. The sleeves were short, barely coming past her biceps, but where her sleeves stopped long white feathers continued. Her white skirt was similar to a sarong and revealed little of her feet that I could barely see. I saw that her eyes were highly decorated and then it suddenly hit me…this was one of the Spirits Farah had talked of. "Okay, next time you wish to do some creepy crap, warn me!" I cried. The Spirit seemed to have a very calm face.

"Shirin, you obviously have the strength to be able to cope with the memories you wish to receive," said the Spirit.

"Wait, yet me just get this right. You basically made me relive a part of my life that consequently got me kicked out of what was my home and made me hated by nearly everyone just so you could see my reaction and see if it would make my mind crack?" I asked.

"I prefer the term 'mentally challenge','" said the Spirit.

"Well, if you're 'all-seeing' then why don't you just see what I do when I get the memories?" I asked.

"Shirin, fate is something that is something that can highly un-final, I can't see everything," the Spirit replied. "This place was created by Dahaka as a place where all memories from any time zone would be stored, this includes your memories that are from outside of the timeline. Now I must still warn you about the fact I am totally unaware of what your actions will be after you have drank from fountain and that I am allowing you to pass only because of my own judgement of you," explained the Spirit slightly cautiously.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, I have absolutely nothing in common with Dahaka even though he created me…and he's technically my mother, father, sister, brother, aunt, uncle and every other family member title. I'm not going to go psycho no matter what I see," I explained.

"Hm. Really." The Spirit said slightly sceptically.

"So, guessing that I'm going to be going back to the Temple some time soon, I have one more question, just out of pure interest, how old are you?" I asked, I felt relieved now that the trial was over, and the fact that I could kid myself that it had been easy. The Spirit was silent for a while as I could see in her eyes that was trying to add up the years,

"Roughly…I'm about three-billion, nine-million, nine-thousand, nine-hundred and ninety-nine-years. I was created after my male-counterpart, whom is exactly four-billion years old," the Spirit replied. I blinked with a blank face.

"Gawd. I hope I look as good as you after that many years," I murmured.

"Actually, technically you are older than I am, not physically as you are only seventeen and a few months physically, but your spirit and soul has existed since…well since Dahaka existed and he has been around for infinity," the Spirit said. I looked at her.

"What? Could you just explain that last bit again?" I asked, but my time here was up. I began to feel faint and soon I passed out.

"Shirin…Shirin are you okay?" I opened my eyes, I saw the Prince's head and Farah's looking over me. My vision focused and I saw their faces were very blank.

"Did you know that at one point…I was bald?" I murmured still feeling dizzy and faint.

"Now I've heard some weird things said when people come to, but that is definitely ranking at number one," I heard Farah say. I sat up slowly, I had collapsed in the centre of the platform, I soon found that the design on stone platform was that of the Spirit I had just seen; however, the picture was in profile and right beside her was another spirit-like creature and above them was a pair of eyes.

"What happened to you? You just passed out," asked Farah. I stood and shrugged.

"I guess I just fainted because I haven't eaten anything recently, that's all," I murmured. I looked over at the frozen ice pool and I saw some rays of light shinning on it from the clear ice above it. "Dawn already? I must have been out for ages," I muttered. I stood up, shaking slightly. I thought it best not to tell the two of what I had seen; I didn't really want them to know that I also wanted to drink from the fountain - if they did know then they could accuse me for only coming here because of my own want and that I didn't care about them at all. I seriously doubted that if they did know that they would say this, but there was always a chance. "Let's not stand around any longer, I don't like this place," I said, folding my arms as the chill started to get to me.

"Likewise, also I just want to get this stupid trial over with," murmured Farah quietly. I knew she was thinking about my well-being, but she was also worrying about the trial and this was obviously something that lingered quite heavily in her mind. We walked up onto the next platform, the design was the same but nothing happened. We were near the Temple, but I knew that as soon as Farah was on the last platform it would be her trial. A knot tied itself inside of me as we approached the last platform; I couldn't understand why I was so worried; in all honestly, I cared very little for Farah and so it wasn't like I was worrying about her. We stepped onto the platform and suddenly Farah gasped and collapsed onto the stone floor. I looked at her but didn't move; the Prince however was immediately kneeling beside her, trying to wake her. She looked fine, she was breathing okay and she just looked like she was asleep. I wondered what she would be made to relive in her trial…


	23. Betrayer

_This is written from Farah's POV, it may seem a little repetitive because something similar is going to happen to Farah as what happened to Shirin._

**Chapter Twenty-three: Betrayer **

As I opened my eyes, I realised that we were no longer at the Temple, actually, it wasn't so much a matter of 'we'; to be exact it was just I that was no longer at the Temple, Shirin and the Prince were nowhere to be seen. I looked at my surroundings and they seemed incredibly unfamiliar. It was dusty and dimly lit. I saw cobwebs, but they were drifting slightly, I saw an opening to the room I was in in front of me, I saw down a corridor was some sort mirror tilted at an angle. There was something about this room that made me feel uncomfortable. I dusted myself off and stood, I wondered how I had got in here; I might have fallen in here, I couldn't see anyway how that could work though. I was sure I was in the Temple, we were on the third platform, so how on Earth did I get here? I turned round and to my surprise, I saw the Prince. He was lying on some sort of stone vault of some kind, there were three of them. I suddenly concluded that I was in a crypt, I shivered; I didn't want to be here at all. I thought it best to just wake the Prince and find Shirin. He looked slightly different, his hair was shorter, but only slightly - the most obvious thing I noticed about his hair was that it was a brown, lighter than it had been when I met him outside Amber. Well…maybe the dye had washed out somehow…it was odd and incredibly unlikely, but it was a possibility. He was also topless…well, he could have just taken the top of his armour off, though, of course, if he did do that in the weather conditions that the Temple was in he would be freezing so it was something I didn't expect him to do. His trouser were white too, he could have changed - but we didn't have any other clothes because all our things had been with the horses. Well…it mattered not, plenty of unorthodox things had happened since starting this journey and this was obviously one of them. I reached out to tap the Prince on the shoulder in hope of waking him as to continue our journey, however, something very unexpected and frightful happened. Instead of my hand making contact with the Prince, it went straight through him as if I wasn't actually real, as if I was a ghost! I quickly jumped back with surprise. I blinked, bewildered and scared. I suddenly heard someone move in the shadows that cloaked the corners of the room. I saw a woman emerge from the shadows. I didn't recognise her at first but suddenly it hit me. It was I! 'I'…I mean 'she', was wearing my red dress, her hair was pleated, I usually always had my hair pleated; her hair was shorter than mine was…maybe this was all happening in the past, but then how could I be here? Her face looked slightly hurt and perplexed. She was holding a dagger, the dagger, the Dagger of Time; she also held a sword and I assumed it must have belonged to the Prince what with the fact he had a strap across his chest designed for a sword. I couldn't recall this ever happening so I stood watching everything attentively.

She (she being the version of me that was holding the weapons) seemed a little nervous, and I could see in her eyes, she was trying to make a hard decision. Why wasn't she trying to wake the Prince? That's what I would do…or, obviously not, with what I was watching. The Prince looked rather peaceful in his sleep…I still couldn't remember any of this happening but at least one of us was happy. Finally, after what must have been a little argument in her mind the other version of me; placed her (or mine I suppose) medallion down near the Prince. She mumbled something incredibly quietly so I could barely hear: "It's better like this, you know that," I stared at her as she looked down, hesitantly, at the slumbering body of the Prince. She quickly bent down and kissed him briefly on the lips. She quickly hurried out of the room through the entrance; it wasn't until she out of sight fully (when she had turned in the corridor that had the unusual mirror-like device I obviously couldn't see her anymore) that I actually began to wander in her footsteps. However, to my absolute shock, a disfigured creature that resembled a Human (but only just) appeared in front of me with a golden flash! I screamed and immediately ran back into the crypt. I knew it was a dead-end, and that I had nowhere to run but my fear wasn't as strong as I had expected it to be as I sensed that all of this was slightly…unreal. As if it wasn't even happening, but nevertheless, I feared the whole situation and the creature, that had now been joined by several more, which was approaching. I looked at the Prince and screamed several for him to wake, but I guess it should have dawned on me earlier that if the Prince couldn't feel me then he certainly couldn't hear me. A thought drifted across my mind and suddenly became a heavy weight on it. If I was correct, from what I had seen, I had just left the Prince defenceless, with no weapon to protect him. I wouldn't do that would I? I found to my surprise, everything darkening, as blackness bled down into my vision until I saw nothing but black. I found, however, I was able to seen my body, and so, this darkness couldn't be the sort that came when there was no light. Although the mutated creatures had vanished from my sight, I was still swamped with terrible fear - I didn't know where I was, or if anyone was with me so how could I not be fearful?

"You betrayed him!" a voice whispered harshly in my ear, I turned to find the voice didn't seem to have a owner and that I was still alone. The voice, although I saw no owner, belonged to a man, it was a low voice and a harsh one that struck fear in me, it sounded incredibly indicting. My eyes darted around the shapeless world.

"Where are you?" I asked quietly. The voice repeated what it had just said but louder and harsher. I began to walk, feeling uneasy, as I didn't know where I was walking - it was like walking down many steps blindfolded. I asked another question: "Who are you?" Suddenly, in front of me appeared a ghostly, meagre figure. I wouldn't call whatever it was a human although it had a likeness to a human, it didn't look as if it were physical, it looked like it consisted of some sort gas-substance, like smoke, its limbs flowing and not having an exact end. Features, especially the eyes, were darkened as if to emphasise them or to show where they were.

"You betrayed him! You left him to die!" cried the ghost with its harsh voice. It was walking towards me so it was only my natural reaction to walk backwards and away. I shook my head, disagreeing with what the ghost had said.

"No…that couldn't have been me, I wouldn't do something like that," I tried to explain but before I could say anything else in my defence I was interrupted.

"You cannot defend yourself, princess, you debated in your mind and you finally decided to leave someone you supposedly 'loved' in a situation where he could have been killed in slumber, a slumber _you _led him in," the ghost indicted.

"No, you don't understand, I do not remember any of that happening, I wouldn't do that!" I cried.

"You are a twisted, evil woman, Farah," spat the ghost. My nose began to sting as my eyes glazed; I had a strong need to break out in tears as I was being condemned for something I was sure I hadn't done. "If you can't even handle seeing one thing you have done, then how could you handle seeing much more?" I muttered to the ghost. I didn't understand what it meant so I ignored it.

"Where are Shirin and the Prince?" I asked as a tear squeezed out of my right eye, I couldn't hold them back much longer.

"Do not change the subject, princess, you have to face up to the facts, you betrayed him and you did it on purpose," accused the ghost

"No I didn't - "

"Yes you did! Stop denying it!" screamed the ghost. I finally gave in to what it was saying, anything to stop it.

"Fine! I betrayed him then, please, just leave me alone," I begged, I turned around, my tears were running down my face madly and I wished terribly to not be here. The ghost's voice now seemed calm and satisfied.

"You are so weak, you could never have the memories that you seek," it hissed. I stayed still; the words it said slowly went through my mind.

"Memories?" I turned round, "Y-you're one of the Spirits of this place aren't you? I'm still at the Temple aren't I?" the ghost remained silent. "What you showed me, really did happen didn't it? That was one of the memories that I lost,"

"And I can assure you will not be receiving anymore, if you do you'll just end up a shaking wreck," the ghost said.

"No! You can't just leave me here! I need those memories!" I exclaimed.

"Why?" He demanded, "what reason do you have?" I tried to explain my reason but no words escaped from my mouth and I just stood. "You neither are strong enough to have these memories nor have you a reason to have them,"

"I - I, I know I technically betrayed the Prince, but, but I also know that, although I may not be exactly the same person as I was then, I do think the same way. I know that I wouldn't have done what I did just out of pure want, or maybe I did, but it was because I wanted the Prince to be safe because I did and still do love him, I must have thought that I could have stopped the Sands myself. Maybe you're right, maybe I do not need these memories, because either way, I will still love the Prince, but…I need to know what I have done in my life even if practically no one else will remember it. You assume I am weak because I am crying, but I am crying because you misunderstand what I did. Look at what I have done, I have come all the way here, surely doesn't that prove that I am strong enough?" I explained. There was silence. What I said, hadn't been said to persuade the ghost or Spirit, it had just been the truth. The blackness diminished and was replaced with a pure white. The Spirit took on a form of a man. He was a slim being with brilliant white chin-length hair. He was an unusual pale colour but his highly decorated eyes brightened his ghostly white face. His clothes were unusual; I hadn't seen any clothes like his before. They were white and he wore something that actually resembled a long skirt on his lower-body half.

"What's going on?" I asked as I looked at all the white.

"Farah," started the voice of the man, the Spirit, his voice seemed calmer now and lacked any harshness it had had. "I am going to allow you to have your memories for the reason that you have given, however, I wish you to understand that you have only 'passed' by a very small mark," explained the Spirit.

"Excuse me?" I asked not understanding the Spirit's words.

"You were correct, I am the Spirit of this temple. This was your trial; it was a process of showing you something harsh from your past and to see whether you could take having to relive it again. Before you can understand new memories you must understand old ones, of course, we did have to change that policy for you slightly for in the past that you know you have done little wrong," he explained.

"Well…since it's over, could I please go back to the Temple now?" I asked.

"As you wish," the Spirit said, and I began to feel as if I was slowly being lulled asleep.

I immediately opened my eyes and sat up. I was back in the cavern where the Temple was. Shirin and the Prince were kneeling beside me.

"I see a little pattern going on here…first Shirin passes out and then you, I wonder if I will be next," the Prince said. I shook my head.

"It was my trial," I muttered. The Prince suddenly got serious.

"Oh, are you okay?" he asked, his worry obvious in his concerned voice.

"Yes…I suppose it wasn't all that hard," I lied, although I had only been there for a short period, the way the Spirit talked to me had scared me terribly.

"Well…what about all those rumours? Shirin, you talked of those warriors of Dahaka's, that they could bleed into darkness and could move with tremendous speed?" asked the Prince. I thought about it, the Spirit certainly did appear from the darkness and he obviously must have been able to move quickly.

"In a way, all those tales were true." I murmured; I looked at Shirin and recalled the fact that she too, collapsed. "Shirin, when you collapsed, did you experience anything," I asked. She shook her head quickly; it must have just been coincidence. I looked over at the Temple. The entrance was so near now, I wrapped my hands in the Prince's and Shirin's and pulled them to their feet. We made haste to enter the Temple - it had taken months, but at last, I was going to have my memories back.

_I meant to ask before, someone reviewed my Second Sighted fic, they were called Last Survivor, no one would know their actually e-mail address would they because what they left was somewhat unclear._


	24. New Memories

This is from Shirin's POV – expect some weird stuff to happen.

**Chapter Twenty-four: New Memories**

I hoped that Farah wouldn't put two and two together and realise that what I said about me not experiencing anything when I passed out was a lie. As we walked under the golden entrance to the Temple, we found ourselves in a long walkway. On the smooth, stone walls of the corridor were worn away ancient characters; the Prince asked Farah what they said, as he couldn't understand them but to his surprise neither could Farah. I couldn't read it either, but I doubted the Prince would ask me, mainly because he knew my reading-ability was terrible. I could barely see the room at the end of the corridor, but I could see the glimmer of the water that held all our memories at the end of it. I took this time to reflect on the past few months. I looked at the other two and I guessed they were doing the same, it probably distracted them from the feeling of both excitement and tension in their stomachs, I knew that if I was feeling it then they were more than likely feeling it too.

I first thought back to the night I met the Prince. I had gotten into Persepolis on the back of a merchant's cart, stealing some of his merchandise on the way. I'd only been looking at some 'standard' things to steal - the usual kind of stuff I stole, stuff I needed to survive such as food. However, when I saw the palace, I could barely take my eyes off it. Then there were all the rumours about it being the palace that King Sharamen kept most of his treasured possessions in - that was inviting enough, when I heard it was a palace that King Sharaman practically never stayed in the thought of robbing didn't leave my mind at all. I'd managed to get in reasonably easily, when I was actually in the palace it seemed so easy I practically let my guard down totally. Maybe that was a good thing, because if I had been alert, I would have totally avoided the Prince and would have never met him.

My thoughts drifted ahead to when we were being robbed, it still annoyed me considering that I was a thief yet I had been robbed. If Visha's group hadn't found us, then we most certainly would have died. But even when Visha's group found us, out came the revelation that the Prince was to die; and I am sure, that even now, that the Prince is denying that secretly. I can't lie and say I wouldn't do the same…

I remembered back to when we were in Amber. I thought about when I had to kidnap Farah, I don't think I will ever forget that…mainly due to the fact I have a slight bald patch on my head now to remind me. I felt slightly bad about the jealousy I felt towards Farah, at times she would be so kind to me, treat me like I was her sister, but even at these moments my envy of her wouldn't vanish. I knew now for sure, that I had only really liked Amalendu as a distraction, hoping my fake feelings for him would mask my true ones. When Ankur told me about how the Prince and Farah were 'together', I was sure a part of me died inside and a feeling of numbness shrouded my body as I felt like I had lost something that I wanted so badly and it was something that I knew I could have had…

My thoughts shifted to darker ones. When I found out the Dahaka was my creator, my father, I became incredibly confused. I lost my identity. I wasn't sure whether I was Shirin the Thief or if I was the Assassin of Dahaka. For a long time after this revelation came out, the thoughts of who I was played on my mind, but I hoped, after what I said to the Spirit, that the idea that I was definitely Shirin was secure in my mind. I began reflecting about Damini, I still and probably would always know practically nothing about her or what her motive was to kill me, but she was dead now so my thoughts on her should have been brief, however, my thoughts on her lasted up until we entered the chamber that contained the fountain. The room was small, unusual as I expected it to be massive and to look very extravagant. The walls were of a golden colour, but the texture; it was different, a little bit like stone. The floor seemed to be some sort of mosaic with perfectly laid, smooth tiles; it appeared to be some sort of sepia spiral, twisting in from each corner of the room. In the centre of the small square room was the fountain, and once again, my expectations of some sort of excessive object were incorrect as I saw a small fountain that in all honestly, had a stronger resemblance to a decorative birdbath than some sort of mystical fountain. It was a slight greyish white colour; it looked like a type of marble and the texture appeared smooth and polished. The stand of the fountain reminded me somewhat of a tree bark; it appeared to be 'rooted' into the ground; due to this the ground and tiles around it appeared a little bit…'uprooted'. The wall opposite the entrance - or the wall behind the fountain - had a large, rectangular, grey plaque mounted on it with the ancient Indian language engraved on it. My sights moved to my side and I immediately jumped with fear as I saw a motionless beast. I eventually realised that the beast was still due to the fact it was made out of stone. It appeared to have the head of a horse, yet its ears were more of that of a cat's, while its actual body appear very agile, similar to that of a puma's or a lynx's and finally its tail was long and thick; almost like a body of a boa constrictor or an anaconda.

"You have proved the strength that resides inside of you, whether it is of your mind or heart, you have all right to receive the memories that you sought. Know that you are truly blessed to be in this sacred place, this is a place of the highest form of holiness; anger mustn't be expressed on these grounds, if the blood of a being, whether they are innocent or not, is spilt here and corrupts the pure waters that contain the memories of all, then the one that spilt the blood must face the wrath of the Guardian of Memories. The victim, and anyone who has been given this penalty is most definitely a victim, shall be encased within a nightmare unless rescued and the creature is killed by ones that were scarred or exposed to anger, however, those that have been scarred within this Temple are heavily urged to not do such a thing, as the Spirits of Sight shall turn against you and will destroy the Temple, so act with caution. Once you have drank from the fountain you shall find the vortex awaiting you, this will take you to safety," Farah read off the plaque. We approached the water; it was amazingly still and almost of a silver colour, it gleamed with our reflections that made the water appear more like a solid mirror then a liquid. Farah placed her hand on the water, it rippled, distilling it; it had obviously been still for many years, possibly thousands. I watched Farah bow her head as she cupped some of the water in her hands, both her and the Prince's attentions had been lifted completely off me, leaving me with a few minutes to follow through with the act I had been wanting to do. I was much quicker then Farah for I knew it was now or never, I swiftly moved my finger across the water, I didn't need much, and licked up the globules of water. A chill moved across my body and I shuddered as numbness took over. My eyelids dropped of their own accord and immediately different scenes began to flash around me. I knew I couldn't waste time feeling dazed, I had to pay full attention to what was going on around me. I couldn't really make out the actual environment for it all seemed a dark blur but I could make out the characters within it. There was a woman; she was pretty and tall. Her hair, it was black and sleek but short, it was only just shoulder-length. Her nose was small and sharp and she had a tanned complexion. But her eyes, they were incredibly unusual; they were black hollows like the Spirit's eyes. She was wearing a halter-neck styled dress; it was of several different yellow shades, varying from a pale whitish colour to a deep yellow that was closer to orange, red even. I suddenly realised the obvious. I was this woman; I obviously didn't look the same in my other life; I recognised her, or to be honest, the dress, from the dreams I had had. As I turned around, I was on the verge of screaming as I was confronted with a horrific beast. It was about as seven times as tall as I was, it had the rough design of that of a Human, with two arms and two legs, yet this dark creature was no human being; the gargantuan horns and extending tentacles that I feared greatly confirmed that. I knew who it was, it was the Dahaka, I had only seen him in a weak form, but this was obviously his strongest.

"Dahaka, my creator, I am your servant and I shall follow through with any given orders with the utter most loyalty," the woman said. Her voice appeared much more mature than mine was.

"Those who live in this timeless reality must die for they should not be alive in this realm," a shadowy voice ordered. The woman bowed briefly, a sign of respect to the beast in front of her. In her hands, she appeared to conjure up weapons as if from nowhere and then teleported with a black flash, vanishing and leaving no trace of her being. This was the first scene I had seen; therefore, it must have been close to my creation.

There was a flash, a new scene; a new memory. This time I saw I was in some sort of dark, ancient, building, the design reminded me of a temple of some kind. I was stood on a balcony but I saw something occurring below and moved closer to the edge. I saw a young man running, he looked reasonably human yet he gave off a slight aura, and his clothes, they were similar to those I had seen the Spirit wear. He had a panicked face on as he ran up a number of stairs until he came to the highest platform and he saw no means of escape. I then saw myself, or at least, the woman in the yellow dress that was the past me. She walked slowly, the look upon her face, dark and devious. In one hand, she held an axe; the blade was shaped like a crescent moon; in the other, she held a sword with a black blade that was totally jagged.

"Please! I did not choose to be alive in this realm!" begged the man. I then thought about the order that the past-me had been given. This man was no human, he was a creature created by a disruption in space and time - my other self had to kill him. I watched him beg and plead; my other self just stared darkly. In barely seconds she had raised the axe and threw it at the man's neck, jamming it in the wall and decapitating the man! I jumped back as the blade clashed into the stone wall. The room was lit dimly by candles - some of which where put out by the spurt of blood that gushed from the man's severed neck. I gasped as fear began to envelope me; I couldn't take this in - I didn't believe this scene, I would never do such a thing as to kill a man in cold blood!

Another flash, another new memory. I (not me, the woman in the dress) was now running along a building, the building - it seemed familiar, it was of a slight gothic design but things moved so fast I could never actually ever see the surroundings in detail. The sky, it was black but the stars twinkled so brightly and seemed so close and as I looked down, I saw nothing but blackness, as there appeared to be no ground. I was running along various rooftops holding the same black sword. The other version of me seemed very agile and skilled, unlike the creature that she hunted. I looked at it and to my horror it was a child, I wouldn't say it was past the age of twelve. It was a young boy that in his sheer panic and confusion made a wrong turn to find a dead end as he looked up at a wall that was too high for him to grab up to. I knew that this boy was another creation caused by a fluctuation in the relation between time and space for I knew that this realm had no time in it and therefore should not have had any creations other than the Dahaka and I existing in it.

"Please," I heard him beg in his young voice, "have mercy!" Yet, the words had no effect on the hunter. She ran, raising her sword and making a swift slice across the guarding child. She smiled with glee as she heard the death rattle. The need and extreme want to be sick entered my body as I saw this scene. I felt like someone was placing a large shard of glass deep within my mind, it was torture.

The scenes continued. I wished them to stop as I saw more and more unnecessary bloodshed. I saw that I had been merciless, believing mercy was only for the weak. The more gruesome the kill the more delight I took. I screamed out for the scenes to stop and I knew that I didn't want these memories! Yet, all my screaming was done in vain, as I had become a mute within the world. As I fell to my knees, my face awash with tears and my heart filled with shame, anger and sorrow, I finally felt calmness and as I looked up, I saw the scene was one of no violence. I was in a room that I had seen before, before when we were walking with Damini. The room that I had seen the hourglass in. However, it seemed slightly brighter in this reality, candles burnt brightly and I saw that in the centre of the room was the hourglass, and surrounding it were the Dagger of Time, the Staff of Time, the Sword of Time and the Medallion of Time. Shadows cloaked the very corners of the room for where there was light there was darkness; I sensed that Dahaka hid within in these shadows. The woman that was I walked past the Sands looking at them darkly with a look of extreme dislike. She took a seat on the large chair that was rather lavish at one end of the room.

"Why do constantly bring these creations here, to my temple? Have them banished away from here now or I shall do such an act to you!" she ordered, I could see she did not like the Sands; we had one thing in common then…

"Do not challenge me, you know that I am stronger and could have you and this temple destroyed, it is not I that resides here nor do I need you. You're eradication would not effect me," a monstrous voice from the shadows stated somewhat harshly.

"You will have plenty of time to ogle the creations when they have actually been created. I have little understanding of why you have written it in the timeline…and while on the matter of time, all the errors have been destroyed so I see little reason why you should not begin time now," the other version of me said. By 'errors' I believed she was referring to the many glitches she had killed. No answer came. "The place that these objects will be created, what is it called?"

"It shall be called the Island of Time, they will be created by the Empress of Time," the voice from the shadows replied.

"Quaint. You conceive the idea of these objects here, in the Temple of Time, and then you decide to have them created on the Island of Time. Lacking some originality were you?" mocked the woman. I could never think of her as I, we were nothing alike. I was trying to understand and pick up things from this conversation. The Empress? I wished I had listened to Dahaka more when he talked to me for when I did I had heard of an Empress. It appeared to me, that before time existed, I, or at least that other version of me, resided in a realm known as the Temple of Time that seemed to be a building created in the middle of absolute oblivion. Here Dahaka was creating the timeline and designing creations (such as the Fountain of Sight) that were to be created in time in due course. Therefore, in a sense, the hourglass I saw here was a 'work in progress'. So initially, if you were thinking on the basis of the existence of…well, absolutely everything, not just time, then the hourglass was created on the Temple of Time. However, it appeared to me, on the basis of just time; then the Empress, whoever she was, had created the hourglass and Sands. The conversation continued.

"Those various weapons and tools," started the Dahaka, I heard an unusual 'whoosh' sound and I could tell that Dahaka had changed form. He emerged as a cloaked figure from the shadows; he was now in the form that I often saw him as. I had noticed now that as well as not being heard in this state - I wasn't seen either, it was almost as if I was just a fly on the wall. "Maybe you should take one, use it as a personal weapon. No one needs to create them if you wish to have them," he said calmly in the voice of a man, it was a dark and shadowy voice that seemed to suit the darkness of Dahaka's character. I saw the woman look slyly at him; I could sense the lack of trust she had for him. She stood and walked over to the various weapons and tools. She turned sharply to look at Dahaka.

"I do not want to use any of these," she stated quickly.

"It is your choice, Shirin," said Dahaka lightly. I saw the woman look at him quickly.

"Shirin?" she enquired obviously not use to being called by the name or any name for that matter. Dahaka walked thoughtfully around.

"It's a pretty name isn't it? It will be from a land known as Persia that will start great to eventually crumble and become a shadow of its former self. The name means 'charming'," Dahaka explained.

"Why did you call me by it?" the woman asked, I heard something unusual in her voice, fear; she feared no one but Dahaka.

"Because that is who you are going to become," Dahaka replied. There was stillness in the room for a few seconds but then Dahaka suddenly snatched up the dagger! The fear that was inside of the other version of me became clear on her face. She turned and fled; the hunter had now turned into the hunted. She was no match for the human-form that Dahaka had created and he threw the dagger and it immediately lodged itself in her back. She fell, I looked at Dahaka and I found though the hood to his cloak had fallen, his face was a total blur but I could make something out…a smile.

I found I was drowned in darkness. I figured that this must have been some sort 'break' between the memories. I tried hard to gather my thoughts. My dream, or, to be more exact, my nightmare, the one I told the Prince about…was only a nightmare, but somehow it had entwined itself with my lost memories. For many years, wherever that place was, I had always considered it home, and in a sense, it was. Yet the nightmare had become contorted and each inverted aspect represented something. When I dreamed I always saw brightness, where there was light there was darkness; I was that darkness in that reality. A sea? There was sea, a sea of blackness, a see of nothingness that the Temple of Time had been created in. In my dream I would walk to then run, it represented my change from the confident woman I had been to the fearful victim I turned into - I still didn't like her in even when she was 'killed'. Then there sky darkening and everything rotting? Rotting occurs when something died, the old me had died, from darkness came light, the light represented the new me. In a sense, everything Dahaka had said to me was true - the weapons of Time could have belonged to me and in a sense they were mine, Dahaka was telling the truth about the Sands being created originally in the Temple and then the Island. All of it had been true…except; did he really become weaker when the Prince released the Sands? Was that a lie? Maybe it was just something to manipulate my mind, to create a false-fear for the Prince to make me want to kill him…too many thoughts were running through my head to understand them all. In what must have been a few minutes, I must have seen plenty of people, varying from all ages, being killed by my hands. I'd drank from the fountain because I wished to know more about me, and to know who I really was…and now I did, I was Dahaka's servant, I was a cold-hearted killer. There were no more secrets about me now…all those years of not understanding my abnormalities, all those years of searching in books and receiving tiny bits of unclear information…and now, I was seeing everything clearly and in one go. A feeling of emptiness was left inside of me. I didn't cry, I didn't laugh; I didn't say anything. I just sat in the darkness.

I wasn't sure how long it'd been, but eventually the darkness seeped away and I found myself in another scene. I was in a room, it was day and I saw that I was in some sort of Persian city as I walked to a window and saw people wearing Persian clothes and speaking in Farsi. I found the room was a bedroom as I saw a woman sat in a low bed. The room wasn't kept terribly clean, it was dusty and pots and pans were laid all over the place with food that was either stale or rotting. I figured the woman was hardly rich if not just plain poor and from the lowest caste. I saw in the woman's tired eyes a lot of sorrow and sadness, that and shame. She was young and I would say she was aged between twenty-two between twenty-five. She was dark; she had a tan similar to mine. Her nose was also like mine, small and pointed, and her chin; again, it was pointed like mine. I began to notice she looked a lot like me and I soon figured out that this woman was my mother. This was the first time I had ever seen her face clearly, I wanted to ask her questions, but I knew she wouldn't hear any words that fell from my mouth and so I remained silent. My attention was removed from my mother as I turned around as I heard a distressing cry that was from the mouth of a baby. A saw a man of around fifty holding a baby slightly…insensitively, he didn't seem to care if he was hurting the child or not. He was hard to describe but I sensed he was quite a 'cold' person; his frosty black eyes gave me this feeling. His eyes were small and beady and his features seemed proportioned incorrectly, as his nose was incredibly prominent while his eyes were small and his lips were thin. He wore the clothes of a sage or a magi. He frowned at the squirming baby. The baby had a head black hair but was skinny without much fat. It had been clothed in a small dress and so I was aware that this baby was a girl, I was this baby…

"She carries a dark aura, an aura that only surrounds creatures not of this world," stated the Sage. My mother wouldn't look at the baby. "Have you named her yet?" the Sage enquired. My mother shrugged.

"No, not yet, I didn't want to until you advise me on what to do…I was thinking about Alaleh or maybe Kismet," replied the woman. I couldn't really picture myself with either name, I wasn't pretty enough to be named after a flower and have such a name as Alaleh, and Kismet, meaning Destiny would be slightly ironic for me to have what with me being the daughter of the incarnation of fate. The Sage passed the baby back to its mother. The baby's cries silenced as it found comfort in the warmth of her mother.

"Delkash," the Sage started looking at my mother. Delkash? My mother's name? "I advise you greatly to rid yourself of this child immediately," I looked at the man wide eyed. I wish to silence him, I knew it was written for me to never know my mother but if this man had never said anything…then maybe I would know my mother. From what I was seeing, mother wasn't as cold as I had thought she was.

"You can't be suggesting…that I kill her, I gave birth to her - she's my baby, I can't do that!" rebuked my mother.

"Then allow the child to grow, but she will have demonic abnormalities and will be nothing but a murderess," the Sage warned. The mother was having second thoughts; I could see it on her face. This was hurting me so much…to see that my mother was going to abandon me due to some stupid words of an old man. The Sage was preparing to leave as he opened up the door to the room. "Choose what you wish to do carefully, Delkash," he said before leaving the room. My mother looked down at the baby that gurgled happily in her arms. It didn't matter how evil I was suppose to be, she was my mother, she would always love me…

Things darkened as I found myself in another scene, it was the dead of night. A small horse-driven cart was making its way through some deserted lands, they were familiar; I had seen them before. I was near the temple that the warriors trained in. I saw in the cart, Delkash, my mother cradling me along side a woman that looked similar to her but her hair was much shorter than my mother who, like me, had hair longer than her back. I didn't know this woman, my aunt maybe?

"Thank you for helping, Azin," my mother murmured. I saw the woman smile.

"Anything for my little sister, but, Delkash, are you sure this is right? Just say if you want us to turn back, Rasheed will turn round won't you?" said the woman known as Azin to the man controlling the horses, he wore heavy cloak so I couldn't see him. He turned round to look at Azin.

"Azin, please, I love you very much but this is a ten hour journey, don't ask me questions like that," he replied trying not to sound harsh in any way. I guessed he was Azin's husband. Azin scorned at him and then turned back to look at her sister and niece. I wondered whether Azin or Rasheed had children, if they did, then I would have cousins, I could possibly track them down - however, as no second names were being mentioned, such a task would contain a ridiculous amount of difficulty. The cart suddenly jerked to a stop. Rasheed and Azin didn't say anything; they watched Delkash cradle her daughter for a few final moments.

"Sister, no one is forcing you to do this, you could just move to Babylon with us, no one would know about you or your baby so neither of you would carry any shame," Azin tried to reassure. A thought wandered across my mind, if my mother had gone to Babylon, then would I have still met the Prince? Well, with my constant desire to steal I probably would have been caught eventually and then sentenced to death, possibly catching a glimpse of him. When such a thought disappeared, I began to wonder about Azin's words; I understood what my shame was but not that of my mother's. My mother looked severely depressed and I could see a feeling of faithlessness shrouded her. No answer came to Azin's offer; my mother removed herself from the cart. It was the first time I had seen her standing and I saw she was only a mere five feet or so tall, I actually seemed taller than she was. She seemed to wonder, slightly drunkenly (her footfalls were heavy and her bare feet swerved slightly unsteadily) and absent-mindedly to the wooden double-doors of warrior's temple. She hit into it and slid down onto the dirt ground. She looked down at me, or, the version of me that was the baby. She was murmuring something to me, I couldn't hear it though - she was saying it so quietly, what I think she was saying were words of comfort, possibly to herself. I could hear her voice tremble and I saw her eyes began to glaze - something that became obvious as the moonlight reflected itself on them. These were the last moments I had had in my mother's arms…

Slowly, the scene melted away from me, for a long time, my mother sat with me in my arms and I knew that for an even longer time that picture would remain in my head. I didn't immediately understand where I was once the scene had left me, but eventually I got my bearings back and realised that I was back at the Temple of Sight, however, my world was that of a silent one as no words or sounds registered in my mind, and so, although I saw Farah, with a face that was split between one of a frightened grimace and one of unrivalled happiness, repeat the words 'I've seen it, I've seen it all', I did not hear her voice. An empty feeling was left inside of me; it was like no feeling I had felt before, a sort of manic bleakness that gave birth to an even deeper feeling of futility. I, Shirin, had been nothing more than a cold-blooded killer, I was no better than Durjaya, Neelkamal, Visha or Damini; the way I had acted gave such people an angelic appearance. How could I differ at all from what I had been? Admittedly, those that I had slaughtered had only been errors, glitches and therefore where not real, yet no matter what form they took on, I had no fear in killing them. I watched Farah and the Prince. This was the moment the Prince had waited several months for, to finally know whether Farah wished to just return home and have nothing to do with him. Such a question was answered very quickly as Farah almost immediately pulled him into a tight embrace after collecting all her thoughts. I knew she was crying, maybe down to fear of the sand creatures, but I guessed it was more down to the sheer happiness that swamped her, she had heard _everything, _including anything the Prince had said. The things she said were a slight garble between apologies for trying to betray the Prince, and words of affection. I was unaware of how I knew such knowledge, for like I said before, I heard nothing.

I watched them only for a few moments, but already, anger and jealousy was welling up inside of me for it was only now that I realised, that as soon as we came to the next city or town Farah and the Prince would want to get rid of me immediately. They would not wish to have me in tow, they had got what they had come for; they didn't need me anymore.

"_That's right my servant, they just used you, they never cared about you, they only made sure you lived so they could have what they wanted,_" A dark voice stated quietly in my ear. I saw no owner to the voice but I knew whom it belonged to and I knew that it was only I that heard it. A part of me agreed with the voice, but then, another part disagreed greatly and this part of me began thinking things that the voice seemed to hear. _No, you're wrong, they do care about me; they came running when Damini attacked me. _

_"Ah…but notice how you suffered before they came? They do not need you anymore; he doesn't need you anymore now that he has Farah. She'll be the one there for him, not you,"_

_He'll still want to know me; he can't just forget me!_

_"But he will, it is not like he ever felt anything for you, he only loved Farah,"_

_B-but…I love him…_

_"And there is only one way he could possibly feel the same towards you,"_

_There is? What_

_"It is simple, rid him of Farah, kill her, if she is not around then he will love you,"_

_But…that's wrong; she has been kind to me, that wouldn't work…_

_"But it would! Kill her now! It is your duty! I promise you, you will get what you want!_

What I wanted. The words of Dahaka continued to press into my mind and then suddenly, the opposing half of me gave in. Yes, everything Dahaka said was true! I should kill Farah! I felt the heaviness of the dagger's scabbard at my side. I would kill her! The Prince and Farah had separated from their embrace and now they were looking at me, wondering what on Earth was wrong with me. There was silence for a few minutes as my face darkened with a look of dementedness. The feeling in the air, it was an odd lull right before I would commit the murder. I was not sane, I was not thinking straight, but at that moment in time, I believed I was seeing things clear for the first time ever.

"Shirin?" I heard Farah ask. My eyes, that had turned a darkened green shifted to her and glared, they portrayed the darkened thoughts and feelings that ran through me. I did not mutter a word, instead came out a horrendous scream that contained my total anger, my envy, my hatred. I must have moved abruptly and quickly for Farah did not expect my attack at all. She was practically grounded immediately, with one hand, I held her neck; I didn't know how tightly I held it, but she gasped madly and fidgeted for lost air. In my other hand, I held the dagger. I struck the blade crudely across her head, hoping it would go across her face, but it only cut her forehead. _Die! Die! DIE! _I just wanted her dead; I wanted to gorge her eyes out! I wanted to scar her face! Destroy her beauty. However, before I could hurt her anymore, I was kicked harshly away from her. She immediately gasped in air and got to her feet. It had been the Prince that had beaten me away.

"Shirin! What is wrong with you? Why are you acting like this?" he demanded, shocked by my behaviour. It was only now that I realised my face was awash with tears.

"D-do you remember when we first met and we were in the library - y-you said about me having sand inside of me like a sand creature, you were wrong, I don't," I sobbed loudly and slightly incoherently, rather annoyingly, that total overload of saliva you get when crying made it hard for me to talk. The Prince, who now held his two swords looked at me oddly, Farah too, stood with her bow and arrow ready to use. "But, do you r-remember when I joked about me being related to Dahaka, w-well, that was true - I am!" I bawled. The Prince stared at me with wide eyes.

"What?" he quested in utter surprise. "You mean…Dahaka sent you? You've just been following me?"

"N-no…but…I have to do this, I have to kill you Farah!" I cried. However, before I could try and launch another attack at her, the Prince immediately split us apart and the dagger and his swords clashed.

"What do you mean you have to do this?" he demanded. I did not give up although my wrist and hand that held the dagger's hilt was hurting and being bent backwards.

"I…I just have to!" I cried back. Once again, Dahaka's voice entered my head and began to twist things.

"_You should kill him too now! He won't listen, he won't understand! Kill him!"_

_But, I can't - you don't understand; I can't just murder him!_

_"You can! I won't betray you, they've betrayed you, but I can promise you, that if you kill him, you will find someone that loves you and you will live the rest of your life filled with happy emotions,"_

_You promise…fine, I will kill him too!_

He said he wouldn't betray me…I believed him, I wanted happiness, I wanted to be loved, and if by killing the Prince, no matter how insane an act, would get me this…then I would do it! I stepped back quickly, swiftly moving to my side. I caught the Prince not guarding and struck him hard across the face! The dagger drew from his right earlobe, across his chin, down across his heck and onto his shoulder, leaving a bright red mark.

"Argh! Shirin you little freak!" he screamed in his pain. As soon as the word fell from his mouth I couldn't give a damn what happened to him! I accompanied my previous attack with a powerful kick. He stumbled, grabbing onto the rim of the fountain to remain standing. But suddenly realisation of what could happen dawned on both Farah and I.

"No! The blood will go into the fountain!" cried Farah. But before the Prince could move, he felt a drop of blood drip from his chin. There was a slight sound that was near enough indescribable as it hit the water. Nothing appeared to happen, and the Prince's eyes looked down at the water, the blood twisted, defusing itself. There were an odd few seconds of total silence as we all held our breath. But then suddenly, the air we had been holding was shook out of us as the ground shook as if there were an earthquake under our feet. A voice screamed something at us, I didn't recognise it at first but then realised it was the Spirit's voice mixed with a man's voice that sounded just as mystical.

"_Fools! You have contaminated the water that contains the memories collected by time. Now face the consequences!" _the voice explained loudly, it was louder than booming thunder. My eyes swiftly turned to the stone statue of the unusual beast. With a dark red flash, the creature came to life. It was totally black with red eyes, but the pupils were large and white. It gave a tremendous roar as it leaped off the altar it was stood on. The Prince grabbed his sword and Farah shot an arrow at the creature, but it didn't cringe at all, it simply carried on walking. It first walked slowly, trampling with heavy feet to the Prince, the Prince backed off and came closer to Farah, I couldn't move - fear glued me to the spot. However, it appeared the creature didn't do much harm to the Prince and Farah. It simply distanced them from me, herding them like sheep, then when they were at the door to the room, it swished its thick tail at them, smacking them down the corridor. The beast wasn't after them, it was after me. It then began to walk slowly to me. The earthquakes seemed to get harsher, the walls of the room I was in were weakening. I trembled when thoughts of me being trapped in the room with beast ran through my mind. I was shouting at myself to run - I could possibly roll past the creature; it was obviously heavy by the way, it moved slowly…or at least, that was what I thought. Using the power of its puma-like hind-legs it leapt up and landed on me. I hit the ground and the first thing I saw where the slightly off green blade-like teeth of the creature. My scream was stifled as I felt my world darken, as blackness swallowed me up. I felt a fast falling sensation, the air running through my ears, making it sting. I couldn't understand what was happening. I heard the barks and growls of the creature, I heard my own screams of pain, I felt the beast tearing away at me but I did not see it anywhere; I just felt myself falling constantly in blackness. It was like I had become split between two worlds. I could feel the monster clawing away at me again and again, I knew I couldn't push it away, I was weak. It was mauling away at me but I could do nothing in my defence for I was trapped in this nightmare! But then through the agony and screams I heard another voice, another scream.

"I'm not just going to leave her back there with that thing, Farah!" It was the Prince. Was he saying what I thought he was? My mind had cracked, I could not decipher the difference between good and bad and whom was good and bad, right at that moment, Dahaka could have told me black was white and night was day and I would believe him. Suddenly I found myself being thrown back into my own body. I was back at the Temple. I was lying on the floor still; a pool of blood was rooting its way from my deep wounds. I found myself choking badly on something; with a deep breath I brought it all up and found I had been choking on my own blood. My clothes had been ripped terribly, and were revealing a little bit too much than I would have preferred, but that was the least of my problems. Something was still wrong with my breathing, I was gasping in sharply; the beast's claws had dug right into my ribcage. Either its claws had pierced into one of my lungs or my one of my own broken ribs had. My eyes looked at the rest of my body, to my disbelief, certain parts of my body had been so badly clawed at the bone was actually exposed. The creature had torn off one of my fingers, the top to my right thumb and my left smallest finger was hanging on by a small thread of skin. I caused myself great pain as I blinked; I soon realised that the creature had actually ripped my left eyelid into two parts. I did not understand. Dahaka…he promised me, he said if I tried to kill both the Prince and Farah then I would be happy…but I was suffering now. He lied to me…he betrayed me. He used me; he was just made me attempt to do what he wanted! Tears were running down my face, possibly due to the pain, but probably more to do with the anger I felt towards Dahaka and myself. I began to wonder through all the turmoil I felt, why I had come back into this world. The creature had backed off. I saw the Prince; he had struck it with his sword. It made the creature somewhat dazed, but I knew that was only a temporary effect and soon it would attack the Prince for it was what the plaque had said. However, before the beast could regain its steadiness, the Prince threw one of his swords at the creature, this totally deterred it as it keeled. Finally, I saw a fired arrow strike into the creature's head and lodge itself in its brain. The creature gave a short, hellish yell of pain, as some of its brain matter was in fact on the arrow, and then it immediately fell with a great crash! I saw Farah stood at the entrance to the room we were in, she had shot the creature; she had killed it, she had saved me. The beast crashing to the ground hardly helped the situation…the walls were already falling down and apart. We had to get out NOW! But then there was a problem with me, I could not walk, I was dizzy and even now my mind was becoming vaguer and vaguer, I couldn't think properly. Although the Prince and Farah had come back and killed the beast, I did not expect them to come back and take me out of here. However, a lot of things I didn't expect were happening, and the Prince scooped up my rather mangled body and quickly rushed to the exit to the room…I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe I had been so foolish, I couldn't believe he was actually trying to save me. Then it dawned on me, I realised something; something I would have rather not know and would have liked to have pushed to the back of my mind but couldn't. My thoughts eased, and the pain I felt was pacified as I became more disconnected from my body than I had ever been before, and gently, reflecting thoughts ran through my mind…

-

_Right, if any of you are confused then here is a quick summary: Shirin has found out that she was just cold-blooded and a total murderer (she's a bit like what Shadhee is to Kaileena), since she was feeling weak and unsure, Dahaka twisted her thoughts and was trying to make her follow his orders because although she is no longer the Assassin she is still under his control and now basically, after actually trying to kill the Prince and Farah, she has suddenly realised that she has messed big time…isn't that always the way, you think you're doing the right thing and then you just get a big smack in the face to open your eyes to the fact that what you did was totally futile…_

_Okay, now I have one thing to request of the people reading this fic. Now I'm asking you this here because I just don't feel the next chapter will look right if I just started speaking either at the beginning or end. The next chapter is the first chapter I've ever done when it's totally based around someone's death (odd due to the fact I actually do kill everyone off - except for Dahaka - in my POP: WW fic, even the Prince - twice) and I would kinda appreciate it if you gave your opinion on this chapter, mainly because although I have been told it's good I personally still feel a little unsure about it.. Now, it's written from Shirin's view, yes I know it is short (I did consider combining it with the Linkin Park song Crawlin/Numb/ Somewhere I belong or even Don't Stay – in which case it would be her talking to Dahaka not the Prince - for these are the sort of songs I associate with Shirin but it didn't look right), yes I know it is a little vague. The next chapter DOES NOT end this fic._

_By the way, KK you may notice I have changed some things to loose contradiction, re-arranged some things and added a few bits._


	25. Free

**Chapter Twenty-five: Free**

I stare. I breathe. I know; I know this is it. Soon I will be free. Soon it will go dark and eventually, I will take my last breaths from this world. You are born and you end up in your mother's arms…now I am dying, and I am in his arms. Why? Why did I try and hurt him? My hunger to be loved was too dangerous. Why did I do the bidding of my father? So hungry, so foolish. I lost myself in want. It is only now I see…I already had what I wanted, I was loved, he told me so, that night back in Amber.

I, I want to know what will happen once, once it all stops, once the pain of this world ends. Will I go and stand beside my father…only to do more evil, no, maybe it won't be in this world, but somewhere I will get revenged. I have been betrayed. I have hurt him so badly…yet he went back for me, he actually decided to go back and help me. Me. I tried to kill him.

I feel so small now, like I am disappearing. I feel so simple. Like a child again, and I am being held so tightly. Everything is falling around me, yet I sense no fear in him, he just wants to get outside into that white land, he wants to get out alive, alive with me. I don't think I can hold on that long.

I never meant to harm anyone…not even Farah. I was never sure if I liked her; after all, it was she who he loved completely, not me…though I longed to be her.

I loose my consciousness temporarily and I am consumed in darkness. Then it suddenly hits me…I don't want to die! _NO! I DON'T WANT TO DIE! DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN TO ME!_ I want to scream and fuss, I feel suffocated, like I am drowning in a black sea. But then…I hear him call my name and I feel him holding me, I calm, I 'awake' back into this world. He is there; I am here. I am alive, if only for a few minutes more. I shouldn't fear…not now, in these last few moments. My head finally rolls back as I am carried down the many stone steps; I hear the continuous footfalls as he and Farah run, yet my eyes, they remain open. I see the glow of the vortex awaiting us outside the temple, I feel us move into it as I am bathed in its warmth.

I see the azure sky above me, so clear; it feels so near, almost like I can reach out, touch it and pull myself up onto it and then I can lie on it as if it were a blanket. I loose my consciousness again, I feel nearer to the sky now, I am calm, I can feel the breeze; it is calling my name. I feel like I am on the back of a bird, gliding through the sky. I move back into my body and into the real world. I feel my body against the snow. I see him calling my name, but I hear nothing. He takes me and shakes me, but I feel nothing. I feel so unconnected…it is so cold, why is it so cold? It is not the snow…it is different. I don't smell anything anymore and I don't taste anything. The blue sky is soon sealed away from my vision. I do not even feel my body…I do not even feel myself breathing. But…I know I still I'm breathing. My final breaths are approaching. What do I do? Do I say something? I do not wish to end up in a world of darkness…the fear appears to intensify and I am encased in it even more. My poem will not help here. The Prince, what did he do when he was scared? Then the word seems to form. I have never been there before…but I want to spend eternity there…I trust him, he found peace there, though he awoke to be betrayed. But I won't awake to be betrayed, not anymore. The pulsing beat of time slows. I let go of life…I am free now. Free to go to that fearless place. All I have to do is whisper the word…

"Kakolukia…"


	26. Aftermath

_Sorry for the wait, I'm sure a lot of you though I'd finished (there's still 4 or so chapters to go). Anyway, stop being upset about Shirin – her body's dead, but whoever said her soul and spirit had died and did you all really think I'd write a sequel without her:P This chapter was kinda hard to write so I just did my best. It's Farah POV_

**Chapter Twenty-Six: Aftermath**

Shirin…she…she was dead. I mean, it was inevitable what with the way her body had become so mangled but…she was dead, I, I couldn't believe it, I wouldn't. She seemed so confused before…before everything happened. She had drunk from the fountain; she must have seen some horrible things from her past to have such a harsh outbreak of anger. All those things she said…how could she be related to Dahaka? I would not accept the idea that everything she had done was totally down to her anger; some third party must have twisted her thoughts and must have fuelled her to do all of that stuff. I knew Shirin. Even if she did hate me or anyone for that matter, she would not try and harm me or kill me. She was not a murderer. I looked at her body, I wished I could have just believed she was asleep, but I knew she was not. Her face, though badly scratched and torn, looked rather unusually peaceful, maybe in her last few moments she finally found peace; maybe she just found out who she was, she didn't belong to anyone, she was just herself; she was Shirin.

I could not lie and say I was totally unmoved on the outside, I was on the very verge of crying and there was an unruly feeling in my chest that seemed to make it hard for me to breath. Although Shirin mayn't have liked me, I did care for her. Up until recently I had been the only girl in my immediate family; after travelling with Shirin she seemed like a sister to me, and admittedly at times I may have talked to her as if she was only very young, but I was very grateful for having her around. I tried for a few moments to imagine life without her but it was hard, I had known her for a few months now, her being around was part of my life!

I looked up at the Prince and saw that he was obviously very effected. At first, I could see him trying to deny what had happened, with the quiet repetition of the words 'no, no', but soon this stage evolved to anger as he began to scream at the body in hope it would move and be full of life again, but eventually the realisation that Shirin wasn't going to be alive again dawned on him and slowly sadness encased him and he allowed himself to break out into tears. I had never seen him cry before so I found this somewhat unusual. He had always acted so strong, like he could cope with anything, and now I was seeing him cry as if he were a child. But then I soon found that no matter how strong you believed you were, nothing could protect you the from the sorrow death brought, as I myself, broke out into tears.

We must have sat, weeping for a good fifteen minutes, after of which, we sat silently, left with the aftermath emotions. We didn't look at each other for a long time, but when my eyes drifted to the Prince, I saw his eyes were looking at the dagger, Shirin had been holding it all the time.

"It won't help will it? Using the dagger I mean," he asked slightly rhetorically. I shook my head. "She was dying as soon as we got to the Temple…as soon as she drank from the fountain she was dying…" he mumbled. I knew he didn't mean what he said literally, but I understood what he meant.

"Maybe you should cover her up now," I murmured. I found it odd that I was actually considering the fact that she was cold, maybe I was also saying that because I wanted Shirin to look at little bit more dignified. It wasn't hard to wrap her small body in the Prince's cloak…it made me wonder if he would ever be able to wear it again. I knew it was hard for him, as he touched her skin to feel how cold it had become. I looked around, I hadn't been too bothered to look at our surroundings but now I found some surprise in them. The plaque had said we would be taken to safety, but we were still in the mountain range. However, we must have been lower to level ground for the Prince didn't seem to have any difficulty in breathing, I naturally never did. I suddenly heard something in the distance, rattling and horse cries echoing. Someone was approaching us. I looked around constantly and then suddenly a woman riding a brown horse came into view. She was followed by a lot more people that seemed to be a complete entourage. The woman was older than the Prince and was mature but because of the way she acted and talked this was something I wouldn't believe.

"_Brother! What in the name of Ormazd are you doing in this place? The next time you decided to go on a walk-about you better tell us! Do you even know how worried we've all been? We've been trying to find you for ages!" _the woman cried as she jumped off her horse and embraced the Prince whom had a face of absolute vagueness and despair. The woman had a sharp nose, bluish grey almond-shaped eyes and a rather angular face, she was slim (she wore a lot of clothes but I could tell she was slim because the trousers she wore showed off the shape of her attractive legs) and had very long legs but she also had a tall body with a slightly curved back spine. I had to admit, she was rather attractive in an unusual way. She was taller than the Prince by about two inches but oddly enough her hair, which was a silky light brown, was actually the same length as the Prince's and just went past her chin. She saw me staring with a blank face and obviously took offence. "What is your problem? Haven't you ever seen a sister hug her little brother before?" she asked sharply, I could see the slight resemblance between the woman and the Prince. I could see that she was a princess, her make-up painted face and the jewellery that was laden on her body gave that fact away. She obviously had to wear clothes that would protect her from the cold; the clothes were hardly appealing so maybe the amount of jewellery she wore was to make up for the fact that the clothes she momentarily wore robbed her of her figure. The Prince stepped back and opened his mouth to say something but before he could his sister was already speaking.

"You look awfully pale, when was the last time you ate? You haven't a cold have you? You can get a load of horrid things while in cold places. Where have you been staying? You haven't caught lice have you? Why is your hair different? You didn't use any substances that you're allergic to did you? Is it just the sun or have you dyed it? It's all uneven, I'll get a barber to cut it…" she said, but stopped when her brother didn't bother to react at all. She looked at me "If you've hurt him at all!" she started, she began to jab indicting finger at me. Suddenly the Prince spoke up.

"No…no, Atefah…she is the daughter of the Maharajah of Amber," he mumbled. The Prince's sister, Atefah, appeared rather confused.

"So…what? You kidnapped her?" Atefah asked.

"No…well yes, I mean, yes and no," he continued to mumble quietly.

"Well…it doesn't matter now…father said it would be pointless coming up the mountains, well, he's waiting with Arshia, Nouri and Tallis at the bottom of these mountains," Atefah, softening her naturally brash voice.

"Arshia? He even came, but what about the children?" the Prince asked.

"Shahnaz stayed behind to take care of them, what are you doing all the way out here anyway?" Atefah asked. I couldn't help but feel an outsider to this conversation, I had always considered myself part of the Prince's life, and I was, but I was yet to become a part of his family life. The Prince didn't reply to his question, the whole shock of Shirin's death was still fresh within him. Atefah noticed the body wrapped up in the cloak. She saw Shirin's face.

"Who is she?" question Atefah. The Prince couldn't reply; he hung his head and shut his eyes tight, he didn't want to say her name; I answered for him.

"She's called Shirin, she died in –" I started, about to say the Temple of Sight, but then my eyes caught the Prince's and I realised I couldn't speak of the Temple, the Sands or anything of that matter. "In a blizzard, we couldn't see anything and wolves attacked us," I lied.

"Why was this woman with you in the first place?" questioned Atefah, first looking at her brother who was still grieving and then at me.

"She…she was a guide," I said, this was somewhat a lie but in a sense it was true. Atefah knelt and looked at the body.

"Well…she looks Persian…what family is she from? We can return the body," said Atefah. The Prince shook his head.

"I don't know…" he mumbled.

"Well, what city? We'll give it to the sultan and he'll deal with her," asked Atefah. I knew the Prince had met Shirin in Persepolis but she probably wasn't from there, thieves would never stay in the same city for too long a time.

"I don't know," the Prince repeated.

"Well, we'll just take her back to Babylon then," said Atefah and beckoned some guards. They dismounted their horses immediately and picked up the body. They disappeared into the crowd to some place that would keep the body reasonably flesh. Since Shirin had been a friend of the Prince then it would likely be up to him to sort the burial out…I already knew for sure that it was something we would be unable to do. Atefah suddenly grabbed my arm. "So what about this princess? Is she like a friend or is she a prisoner? I'll have some guard take care of her," concluded Atefah quickly ready to beckon some more guards but before she could the Prince spoke up.

"No! No, Princess Farah is a friend of mine, she can ride with me," the Prince piped up. Atefah looked at me with a smile.

"Farah? That's a pretty name," she smiled. I stood rather still and looked at her blankly, unsure of if she was being sarcastic. "It's a complement dear, you're supposed to smile," she said talking to me as if I was twelve.

"Oh…" I mumbled.

"Listen, if you're a friend of any of my brothers then I won't kill you and I'll be nice to you, you don't have to look so afraid," Atefah grinned. I guessed she must have been quite the swordswoman; it was easy to tell what with her attitude and the sword that was on her back. I replied again with the word 'oh'. Atefah continued to smile but rolled her eyes. She had a guard bring the Prince and I a horse. Once everything was organised, and the three of us (myself, the Prince and Atefah) were at the front of the entourage we began our descent of the mountain. It wasn't particularly a long way down, the vortex must have taken down the mountain so we would meet Atefah, who would, like the plaque had said, take us to safety.

The Prince continued to look blank as we rode. When I asked him things he would act very unresponsive and would say very little, it seemed best at this point, to just ask him rather direct questions.

"So Atefah is your sister?" I asked. He nodded. "How old is she?"

"Thirty-nine," the Prince managed to mumble.

"Do you have anymore sisters?" I asked, I thought that if I asked questions then it may help take his mind off things, yet maybe such an act was futile for even I couldn't believe what had happened. The Prince nodded.

"One more; Shahnaz, she is Atefah's twin," he replied quietly.

"Is she like Atefah?" I questioned referring to Atefah's loudness and tomboy behaviour. The Prince shook his head.

"No. Shahnaz is quiet, but she and Atefah are best friends," replied the Prince.

"Atefah cares about you a lot, does Shahnaz?" I asked; most of my questions were just out of pure curiosity about the Prince's life. The Prince nodded. "That's a little unusual for it is usually people closer to your ages that you care more about, or at least, that is what I believe," I murmured.

"I am close to all my brothers and sisters for it were they that brought me up when I was a child, my mother died in giving birth to me" the Prince explained.

"Oh, I am sorry." I murmured feeling so stupid. "I suppose Atefah and Shahnaz are very good at taking care of their own children, after having practice with you," I said trying to move on to another subject.

"No. Shahnaz is barren; Atefah refuses to marry for she has dedicated her life to become a warrior," the Prince explained. How could I be so stupid? Now I had touched two raw nerves!

"But you mentioned children before when you were talking to Atefah," I pointed out although I was probably going to find that I had just asked another bad question.

"She means my brother's children, Arshia my eldest brother is twenty seven; my mother was a little bit put of having children after having twins so there is quite a big age difference between my sisters and Arshia. Anyway, he has six young children, the eldest is only six and the youngest is a year old," the Prince explained. I mentally wiped the sweat off my forehead, relieved to find I hadn't picked at a dark subject, or at least, that was what I thought. "His wife died last year," the Prince added. I decided it would be safer if I just kept my lips sealed.

My mind couldn't help but try and comprehend that idea of Shirin's death as we rode but as I noticed that our horse had halted, those dark thoughts were pushed to the back of my mind. A small camp had been established; it was easy to know that the largest, most excessive and decorative tent belonged to that of the Persian King. I had never met of him but had heard of him. In his own culture he was a Warrior King (for that was the meaning to his name), in others, he was just considered a murderer with power. When it was noticed that the princess was accompanied by the Prince, the immediate surprise spread through the camp like some sort of plague for the hustle and bustle they had conjured up through their talk silenced and all eyes were focused solemnly on the Prince, and the fact that an Indian princess was with him caused even more shock.

"What? Have you never seen the Persian prince before? Do not ogle like he is some sort of leper!" Atefah said harshly. She was a woman that had a tongue so sharp no one would try and confront her against anything she said. Immediately the chit-chat continued yet this time, it has an essence of fake-ness about it. We dismounted our horses and a servant had them taken away. As we approached the lavish tent, the voices inside of it became clearer.

"It's Atefah isn't it?" One male voice said, this one was mature but still sounded youthful.

"Did you hear what she said?" exclaimed a much younger and jumpy voice. Next was a large cry of discomfort.

"ARGH! TALLIS!" yelled the more mature voice. Two young men emerged from the tent. The first one's resemblance to the Prince I met back during the Sands was amazing! He had the same light brown hair and greeny blue eyes. He was shorter and lankier (his waist was incredibly narrow but he had large hips) and he had a goatee, but still, the resemblance was striking nonetheless. He had a slight glint in his eye that hinted at a mischievous and adventurous personality, that and the giant grin that was pasted across his face. He, like Atefah, was dress heavily in clothes designed to keep him warm, as was the other man. The other man was older, I could tell even if he did look young. I could tell he had once been of a larger, much more masculine build; as I looked at him he looked very skinny but it wasn't a natural build for him. There was something odd about him; he appeared rather 'weary' with a tired look upon his face that in some way actually appeared a natural look. His black hair was long and tied back but it was thinning. His smile was quiet with sealed lips but his eyes (that appeared to have a natural emotional look to them) were filled with delight. The younger man cried something out in Farsi so loudly and quickly I barely caught it. He grabbed the Prince into an embrace immediately. Oddly enough, the Prince made no sound although all the air had been knocked out of him because of the embrace, nor did his face change from the sad, plain look he had maintained since we had left the temple. He was obviously still unresponsive and wearied by the idea of Shirin's death. I kept on repeating the statement to myself – in hope it would sink in properly and that the fake look of indifferent-ness I had managed to sustain could become a truthful face. I thought about what the young man had said and I finally managed to translate it to: 'brother – I'm going to kill you!' I assumed it was said in a more informal and comedy-based manner.

"Not before father and I do," muttered Atefah grabbing one of the young man's ears, I assumed he was obviously her brother. She then took the Prince's; he let out a small cry. Atefah began to pull the two along, she was probably taking on the more firmer role as a slight mask for her sensitive side, people had come to see her one way and that was her strong, firm way and therefore, to show any form of deep emotion (in this case happiness) would contradict this.

"You see, this is what is so great about being Atefah's favourite little brother – she'll never drag me by the ear!" smiled the older man joyfully.

"Oh I would but I have run out of hands! Farah, be a dear and grab his ear and follow me," Atefah called. The slight….unorthodox feeling that came with the situation made me feel slightly unusual, Atefah barely knew me let treated me as if she already did. The man smiled at me and followed his sister; it was obvious that what Atefah had said had been a joke, I couldn't help but find what I had seen so far of the Prince's family slightly…different from what I had expected. Inside of the tent, the Prince's father, King Shahraman was sat on a rather beautiful cushioned chair but as soon as he saw the figure of his son, he leapt up and embraced him like his other son had done.

"My son! Where have you been for so long? Your absence has troubled all of us – what reason was there for your absence?" question the King in a joyful voice…he stepped back and looked at the sorrowful face on his youngest child's face. I suddenly noticed a young man near the back of the tent, he seemed very silent and subtle, in his hand he had a book. He had a rather peaceful face that looked half-way as old as the older man's but also as young as the younger man's. His eyes were bluish with a slight greenness to them, his face was rather angular and he had a prominent nose that was sharp and pointed. Slowly, he got to his feet (he was of medium height and build) and a very subtle look of surprise was on his face as he looked at his brother, the Prince. The Prince was only able to mutter a few words that would have most definitely appear random to his family. He murmured, quietly: 'She's dead…'. Atefah ears, which were attuned to picking up small sounds, heard the Prince's words.

"Who? That girl? Who was she, she is obviously significant to you if her death has made you so quiet," Atefah asked. The Prince did not answer, he simply backed himself into a corner and sat, slowly onto an assortment of cushions that scattered the floor…he lowered his head and I eventually realised, by a tiny whimper that it was to hide his sobbing. The youngster of the two men suddenly glared at me and I could see he was already creating some story in his mind that labelled me the reason for the Prince's sadness. The King however, did not seem to effected by my presence – he spoke before his other son could and he used a much calmer tone then what I suspected the young man would.

"You are Princess Farah are you not?" he questioned as he looked at me, I nodded and then replied with the words: Yes, I am.

"Your father spoke of your disappearance –" the King started, but with the mentioning of my father I immediately broke in.

"My father? How is he?" I questioned, the King was not offended by my worry; he smiled as if he was actually amused.

"He is perfectly fine, now as I was saying, your father spoke of your disappearance, and when the absence of my son was took into consideration he assumed my son had kidnapped you, is that so?" he asked, he looked at the Prince but no answer came so I replied.

"No, I escaped Amber Fort of my own accord; I simply wished to discover a different life – one where I was not bound by the regulations of being a princess; the Prince here also left because of those reasons, we met and continued to travel together, we eventually ended our journey here," I explained. The King stared hard at me as if trying to seek the truth, but eventually he believed me.

"I see, well, I cannot lie and say that a number of your cities have been…altered, as I have searched for my son, but no damage has been created that cannot be fixed, now, I think it best if I returned you back to Amber and finally settle this matter," the King said.

"I agree," I murmured, the King turned his back on me and went further down the tent to where the other man, who I assumed was his son, was standing.

"I'll have some accommodation arranged for you, in the meantime feel free to wonder but I would prefer it if you stayed within the site of my other children," said the King picking up a book and briefly looking into it.

"I will…" I murmured while still looking at the Prince. The King looked at me.

"Princess, your presence is no longer needed, you may go now," he said and actually gestured for me to 'shoo' out of the tent. I slowly stepped backwards while still looking at the Prince, slightly worried and concerned for him. I turned around finally when I was just leaving the tent but as I did I banged into a body, it was Atefah. She had left then tent, her father had given her a slight look while talking to me, it was a look telling her to leave. Her brother had left with her too and now I could sense her other brother's (the one that had stayed in the tents) presence behind me.

"Okay Farah, let's quit playing around – how far have you two actually gone?" she asked looking serious. I looked with what must have been a rather surprised look at Atefah as I wondered whether she was implying what I thought she was. The two other men were standing near her; the oldest smiled and looked less serious.

"Don't be so harsh Atefah," he said with his gentle smile, "You never asked Dara so many questions when we were about to wed," he added. As he said the woman's name I could see something in him change, his eyes softened. From behind me the other brother joined the other two and as I saw the strong resemblance between the three I couldn't help be surprised.

"Oh that's what you think! Now answer the question Farah," said Atefah. The older man shook his head.

"Anyway…if you will excuse the possessive antics of my sister then I'd like to introduce myself. I am Arshia, this is Nouri," said the man and pointed to the man that had a more sophisticated look, he then pointed to the youngest man, "and this is Tallis," he added.

"And I am Farah," I murmured slightly childishly but it was not intended. I was silent as they talked over me, I'm sure what they said wasn't meant rudely. Eventually they noticed me again.

"I'm sorry Farah, we're just joyful as we have found our brother…I'm sure your journey has been long and tiring, I'll have your tent set up immediately," said Arshia, he seemed quite a kind man, having no ill-feelings to anyone. I had heard many tales of the great Royal Persian family and I had heard people speak of the oldest son, who was obviously Arshia, being some great warrior. This was something I couldn't really imagine him as. The youngest Tallis, reminded me more of this image – he reminded me of the Prince I knew during my flight with him to stop the Sands. I knew all about it now…things were no longer a mystery to me now and I knew that all the words the Prince had spoken of where true. I wondered about what Shirin had seen that had made act that way…

As soon as my tent had been prepare I lay in it and was about to slumber but awoke when I realised someone was actually standing outside my tent, as I went to look I saw it was Nouri, one of the princes, the second eldest. He seemed the most serious even though he had said little so far. His eyes were very serious.

"Is it necessary you stand there?" I asked.

"Well, I could always just sit inside the tent but I assumed you'd prefer me here, you're not allowed out of my site," he said. Knowing that any argument was pointless, I returned back into my tent, and lay my head to sleep, sleep…it was something I needed…

I must have woken up early…my eyes open almost as if not by my own will, I wasn't sure where I was. It reminded me of the place the Spirit had taken me to back at the Temple; it was totally black and seemed shapeless. I suddenly saw a crouched figure – she was small and skinny with sleek black hair, it covered her face but I could see green eyes – it was Shirin! I called her name but she didn't move. I walked right up to her and asking her how this was possible. But she didn't move. I stopped my talking.

"Shirin? Are you okay?" I asked slowly. Slowly I saw her head rise, at first I didn't think anything of her but then shock hit me as the face looking back at mine was Shirin's – but it was a deathly paper white with darkened skin around her eyes hinting that no blood was moving through her. She looked dead! I opened my mouth to let out a scream, the image was that terrifying but instead I was greeted with a drowning feeling, I clasped my mouth as I struggled to breath!

I jumped up finally letting out a scream…but I was no longer in that dark place, I was awake – it had been a nightmare. I was back in the tent. Atefah was kneeling with a candle.

"Will you keep it down? It is the middle of the night!" she muttered sharply.

"I-I'm sorry…did…did you try and stop me from breathing?" I questioned.

"Well it shut you up – now go back to sleep!" ordered Atefah and left me alone. I assumed everything I had said to Shirin I had said out loud. I tried to shut my eyes but I feared meeting that image again so sleep became something I didn't want. I sat up and heard the various sounds of the night. I realised I was still in my day-clothes. I crawled out from the tent and into the night. There was a humid and unsettling heat. As sleep was off the agenda, I thought maybe a walk would help…the only thing I truly feared though was the fact somewhere Shirin's body lay. The idea scared me…I don't know why, but for some reason I was scared I would meet Shirin again, but that was impossible…or at least that was what I had thought.

* * *

_Sorry for the weird end, this was one of those chapters were everyone in the story is pretty confused. I'll try and update sooner_


	27. Back Home

**Okay, now I'm not being long-winded in these chapters, but I just want you to learn about the Prince's family, emotions being felt, things like that – I'm sorry these chapters are coming along slowly and I'd like to thank everyone reading this for putting up with that, but death really isn't a subject I like writing about, the next chapters will probably be from Farah's view, though there's a odd little twist in the epilogue :P **

**Chapter 27: Back home**

There was a slightly unearthly feeling in the air, I felt uncomfortable, but I had walked so much now I had forgotten the routes I had taken. The moon was full but it almost seemed a slight abnormal reddish colour, I'd never seen anything like it before.

"Farah?" I jumped; I didn't think anyone would be awake at this time. The voice was a little unusual, it sounded unwell, like the person, who I could identify as a young woman, was suffering from some illness. It came from behind a tent larger than the others, one that was taller and wider so someone could easily hide behind it without being seen. I slowly turned round the corner, I hadn't my bow and arrow, they had actually been taken off me; I had been carrying them into the campsite but before I could even realise anything Atefah had taken them off me. Sat on the ground, was a small figure in a black cloak. She was crawled up and her head was down.

"I'm lost, Farah," she muttered again in her unwell tone. How did she know my name? Maybe she was a member of the camp and it was likely by now word of my presence had spread.

"Well what tent were you in? Was it at the edge of the camp or near the mountains?" I asked trying to help the girl.

"No…not like that…I don't know where to go…" she murmured, she sounded incredibly helpless, I thought for a few moments about who she was, what exactly was her job?

"Who are you? What's your name?" I asked, trying not to sound too intruding. The figure began to shake her head.

"I don't even know that…I don't know who I am…I'm sorry," murmured the girl.

"'Sorry'? What for? I do not know you," I asked, the girl was being confusing, maybe she was confused herself.

"I know you don't know me, how can someone know me if I don't even know myself?" she began to weep. I stared at her and then slowly, I began to realise something.

"Is it you? Shirin? If this is you tell me!" I knew the concept was insane; the dead stay dead, but I couldn't help but believe that this was Shirin.

"Farah?" This time it wasn't from the girl, I turned round swiftly and saw the Prince. I turned round again. The girl wasn't there anymore, there was nothing but shadows. I turned back to the Prince. He wore a baggy, shirt-like garment instead of his armour and I could see by the dazed look in his eyes he had been sleeping.

"Did you see her?" I asked immediately.

"Who?" he asked. That was a 'no' then. I couldn't believe it, I knew she had been sitting there, I knew it was Shirin, but that wasn't logical at all, Shirin was dead and I had seen her die. This could not be my conscious, I felt no guilt - I had never done anything wrong to Shirin.

"She was there! I swear! It was Shirin!" I cried.

"Farah, you're becoming hysterical…you know Shirin is dead," said the Prince, I stared at him but I could understand that he was just being logical; it wasn't as if he wanted Shirin dead. "It was likely some illusion caused in your mind," I began to step away from the shadows and closer to the Prince. The shadows…I had a fear that if I got too close to them, then I'd eventually get caught up in the darkness of it.

"Farah?" asked the Prince, I turned and looked at him, "You do remember? You do have your memories back, don't you?" he asked. I smiled at him and embraced him.

"Yes but you do understand that this is not the right time for us to be thinking of our relationship," I smiled.

"What do you mean?" asked the Prince, still in the embrace.

"I mean to announce it to everyone, we should wait to our families meet in Amber…and once Shirin is buried," I explained. The Prince was silent, for a few moments in our embrace we had forgotten about our grief, but now with the mentioning of Shirin the saddened emotions began to grow inside of him again. I took the Prince's hand and tried to make us forget again.

"I want you to know, that even if I hadn't retrieved my memories, I still would have wished to be your wife. We have gone through so much together, my memories just add to my want to be with you." My words, they were true and it was the Prince that would choose whether to believe them or not, but I could tell by the look in his eyes that he believed me. There was a sudden murmur in the darkness; it made me jump and my heart miss a beat as I thought it was the girl, Shirin, returning…but it was not. It was Atefah, she stood with folded arms, I hadn't even heard her even walk up to us, I didn't like the way she could move so quietly and lurk around without being noticed. Surprisingly she was stood smiling.

"Very touching," she murmured, not in an arrogant, angry or sarcastic way though, which was not something I had been expecting. I let go of the Prince's hand and stepped back, I thought Atefah would eventually get annoyed but no such thing happened.

"You two really do love each other don't you?" she said, "Farah, I will be honest with you, if anyone in my family was against the idea of you and my brother marrying them it was probably me. My father believe alliance to your country is not completely an unwelcome matter, you are rich in a number of resources after all and so, it was unlikely you would not get my father's blessing…but I expected mine to be much hard to earn. I am obviously proven wrong," she smiled; she looked down for a few moments and then back up to us. "I know not of the _real_ reason why you went on this journey and you need not tell me for it does not matter…what matters is the bond that had been built from it. I think it best you return to your tents now, we will begin travelling early tomorrow," Atefah finally concluded. She stood and made sure we went in separate directions, it wasn't like we were planning not to do so anyway.

As I returned to my tent under Atefah's supervision, I began to wonder whether she would ever ask about the real reason why we went on our journey. Before leaving me, she told me to sleep well…I wished I could have, but the image of Shirin continued to plague me…I couldn't understand why though and neither could I understand why I was so fearful of her…I just hoped eventually I would be able to sleep easy.

As the days progressed, the image didn't leave me as I had essentially thought it would. There was magus travelling within the camp, I thought he would be of some help so I went to visit him. He was a young man, which was a surprise for I thought wisdom came with age. His hair was a rich brown and had a certain amount of thickness to it, it was long, touching his shoulders; but I didn't see it out that much, only for a few seconds as I entered the tent. He was stood facing away from me; he was sat and appeared to be in prayer as he quietly chanted. He wore a large and long brown robe which had a hood.

"Uh…excuse me?" I asked trying not to bother him but it was inevitable that I would get his attention. He quickly snapped out of chanting and pulled his hood up and turned to face me. Before even looking at him I could tell he was a young man – his build was not frail, his build in fact, was rather feminine, he had wide hips and a small waist, his face was feminine too, his brown eyes looked sensitive and emotional. He stared at me, his face was a little unclear so I wasn't sure whether he was annoyed at my presence or not.

"I was looking for a magus, I have been having some dreams that I do not understand and I wish them to cease," I explained. The magus gestured for me to sit.

"What happens in your dreams?" he questioned. The tent was in fact rather cramped, full of books and unusual objects that I assumed where ingredients.

"Do you know of the woman that was dead when she brought into the camp?" I asked. The man nodded. "It is her that I see, I see her face, and I have heard her voice before – sometimes I even wonder whether she is dead or not," I explained.

"I see, well, I can confirm she is dead – I have seen her," the magus said.

"And? What does she look like?" I asked; the magus stared at me gently.

"Well…she looks like what can be expected of a dead body," he said, there was a slight pause, and then he added "however…her body hasn't…" I could see him looking for a subtle word, but he failed to find one, "decayed as fast as it is suppose to, in fact, it practically hasn't,"

"Hasn't the body been embalmed yet?" I enquired.

"It is in the process of…it is a little hard when everyday you have to pack up and move," he explained.

"I see…" I murmured; letting him know that I had acknowledged what he had said although I was sure my face was completely blank.

"Anyway, about your nightmares, I can mix up some ingredients that make you fall asleep much faster and will send you into a deep sleep where you will not dream, will that help?" he asked. I nodded. The magus smiled and stood, he moved over to a small area with a number of unusual ingredients and a mortar and pestle. "I will bring the mixture to you later," he said and with that I slowly stood, I couldn't help but feel sleepy, it had been so long since I had last had a good night's sleep, not only was insomnia caused by Shirin but while on the journey I had found it hard to sleep. Just before I left the magus tried to ask me something.

"Princess, you do understand that, when someone dies, it is usually up to the family to make enragements for the body, for instance how they will be buried and…Shirin, the young woman, as my cousin said, does not appear to have any family that we know of…and…since you were the only ones with her…and since my cousin is so rapt with sadness…" I could see what he was trying to ask. The Prince was his cousin; the magus' father was a priest and the brother of the King.

"Did he ask you to ask me?" I asked him.

"No, no, no," the magus immediately said, I stared at him.

"I won't be offended if he has," I said.

"Well…yes, he did but he is practically ill with grief – the last time I saw him was when he was wondering around about a week ago in the night, since then he has remained in his tent and has not emerged unless he really has to, I do worry for his health," the magus explained. I could see he honestly cared for his cousin but personally I didn't believe running away and not excepting his problems would help.

"I will make enragements for Shirin," I started.

"Thank you, princess, I am sure this will take some weight of my cousin's mind," thanked the magus; however I had something to add.

"But I will want the Prince at some time to come and see her body," I added.

"Ah…now I don't think that is such a good idea…" murmured the magus.

"It will help him accept the fact that she is gone – I can do this because I have accepted it…even if before I was unsure I am no longer uncertain," I said. The magus finally gave in.

"Fine – I'll ask my cousin," he finally said. I smiled.

"Thank you for your help," I thanked and then left the tent. I wondered whether my actions had been unfair…but then again, it would not help if the Prince was in constant self-denial and kept on living in the past.

As I walked through the camp, I thought I saw the Prince, but it was his elder brother Arshia, I suppose I was a little disappointed at it being him for it had been a week since I had last seen the Prince. Briefly during the week I had talked to Arshia, and he seemed quite a quiet and helpful man, always with a peaceful smile spread across his face. He was sat on the outskirts of the camp (probably to try and find some peace and quiet no doubt) and he appeared to be writing something. As I got closer, I could see that on the paper he was writing on was a drawing of a person and he was actually giving the drawing a title. I stood over his shoulder, he didn't appear to realise my presence looking at the drawing. It was incredibly skilfully done and I could imagine it had taken him the whole morning to draw it. The lines of ink were incredibly fine, beside him lay strands of a horse's mane's hair and I figured that he must have used them to draw the picture. The picture was that of a woman and I couldn't but help notice how the woman had a likeness to Shirin. She had the same point chin and nose as Shirin and she also had the same skinny build and the woman appeared quite short too. The woman had a gentle smile and eyes like Arshia, these were two aspects I didn't really relate to Shirin, Shirin's eyes were emotional and slightly curious but not exactly gentle, I had seen her smile a few times but when she did smile it was a slightly dark smile. Another difference was the fact that the woman looked nothing like Shirin in the way she dressed. The woman was obviously noble in some way, her clothes were lavish and she wore jewellery – she was a princess. However, there was something about her in her face, a slight look of being uncomfortable, as if she didn't like being of such a high status, she seemed slightly overwhelmed by the jewellery that draped her. I leaned forward to try and get more of a view of her but my body created a shadow over the picture and Arshia suddenly turned to look at me. I expected him to be quite annoyed at me but he greeted me with a smile.

"Farah, how are you?" he asked.

"I'm fine, thank you for asking," I replied, I was still looking at his picture; I tried not to because it seemed slightly rude of me. "Who is she?" I asked. Arshia looked at the picture.

"She's was my wife," he replied, I remembered what the Prince had said; his wife had died last year. I wasn't sure what to say, was I to give him my condolences, or apologise, or maybe comment on how well the picture was drawn or his wife's beauty? "She was called Dara," he added.

"Oh…" I murmured.

"You don't have to be so quiet," he smiled.

"Oh I am not purposely…it's just…well…I heard about her death…" I ended up saying.

"Do not worry…it is something I am not too badly hurt by any more…we all die, it is the way of nature," he murmured, I thought at first slightly cold-hearted…but then when I considered it a little longer it was actually quite a strong thing to be able to say; a part of him obviously missed his wife, it could be seen in his eyes whenever her name was mentioned but he wasn't going to deny the fact she was dead, a part of me wish the Prince could be like this, but then I had to remember that Arshia had had a year and he had experienced death before when he was younger with his mother. I sat down beside him.

"She reminds me of Shirin," I murmured.

"Well I haven't seen the Shirin that you talk of, but I'll take your word for it," he murmured.

"Why…why does she look sad?" I asked slightly hesitantly in case I offended Arshia but he didn't appear so.

"I am not sure, she always looked like that – she never told me if she was upset about anything so I assumed she never was," Arshia replied. I looked at him, I wanted to ask about how she died but that would be probing into his personal life so I decided not to, but it was almost as if Arshia could read my mind.

"We had conquered a small city, I had led the attacks against it and because of this they hated me and they all wanted revenge, Dara wanted to see the city, I told her it wasn't safe and it was just best to stay away…but she got her way and went, they knew she was my wife…and they killed her, for their revenge, they killed her," he explained slowly.

"You don't fight anymore I take it then?" I asked.

"No…violence does not get you anywhere, Farah," he muttered. I could tell the death, or murder to be precise, had hit him hard, it was why he always looked so drained and I guessed his unusual build was down to the fact he had stopped eating. I hadn't noticed the long silence as I had been thinking and I only became aware of it when Arshia pointed it out.

"I'm sorry if I have been boring you – are you looking forward to returning home?" he enquired.

"Yes…and no, I will see my family, and that makes me happy, but I will have to bury a close friend of mine and I cannot be happy about that can I?" I murmured. Arshia smiled and stood.

"I wouldn't worry too much Farah, life is too short as you know to do so," he said and walked off back into the camp. I looked up at the sky…it wouldn't be that long till I was home again…but things wouldn't be the way they use to be, no, too many things had happened for things to just be like they were…

The days passed much faster than I thought they would. As the days past, the Prince eventually got emotionally stronger, and then I began to wonder whether him seeing Shirin would be such a good idea, I had seen her a few times…the first time my knees buckled and I wanted to be sick, it wasn't so much the fact that what I saw was hideous, it was actually the opposite of that that made me fall to my knees. It was the fact that she looked so peaceful, as if she were asleep. If he saw Shirin maybe he would be right back at the beginning again. Then again, I had seen Shirin but my nightmares had not returned, the mixture the Magus made worked very well and I had to use it a lot until I eventually was confident enough to sleep without it. There was a lot of talk about how Shirin was to be buried and a lot of it annoyed both the Prince and I. Many said she should just be buried anywhere and her burial clothes should be made of a cheap cloth; they said these things because she wasn't royalty, to the people who said these things she was no one. We were less then a day away from Amber, and once again, people were grumbling about what arrangements were to be made. I was sat far from the settled camp, this way I wouldn't have to hear the things they said. The Prince eventually joined me.

"They're saying all those things about Shirin, again," he muttered.

"It is all that can be expected, in a way what they say is true," I murmured. He stared at me.

"Are you trying to justify what they say?" he asked.

"No, but they don't know her, and…she isn't royalty is she?" I murmured. I was sat on the ground staring at the sky, it was painted with a thick deep orangey colour; it was peaceful and tranquil.

"I still think she should be buried with the same amount as respect as if she was," the Prince murmured sitting down on the ground beside me. He looked a lot different from when I first met him, then again so did I; both of us had changed a lot whether it be mentally, physically or emotionally.

"Do you want to see her?" I asked him.

"Farah, why would I want to see the dead body of a friend?" he asked slightly harshly.

"She doesn't look like _that_, and…when you last saw her she was dying in your arms, this way you'll be seeing her in peace," I murmured. I expected another negative remark from the Prince, but none came, he just sat silently, and I could tell he was thinking.

He sat still for quite some time, even after the sun had finally set. His eyes were open, but I couldn't help but think that maybe he had fallen asleep and a part of me actually wanted to nudge him. I had gotten slightly bored of waiting, so I closed my eyes; he wasn't actually taking any notice of me so I didn't expect him to be offended.

"Farah?" I suddenly jumped. He was now standing. "Don't fall asleep," he muttered.

"I wasn't I was just resting my eyes, so…what were you thinking about?" I asked although I knew the answer, I thought it safe to just pretend I had forgotten my question.

"Shirin? Where is she?" he asked. I quickly got to my feet.

"Are you sure about this?" I asked him.

"Well would you like me to sit for another hour and think that over?" he asked. I quickly started moving.

We stood in front of the tent where Shirin's body was kept. They didn't keep candles or anything that would cause heat in there. I held a lamp in my hands, it had gotten dark very quickly and very few people were awake now, only the few guards that were on sentry duty. The Prince didn't say anything, and I could tell he didn't want to appear like he was purposely stalling so he almost immediately pulled the tent's flaps aside. I could see it in his eyes. The same thing I had thought when I had seen her. She didn't look dead at all, she looked asleep; she looked fine. She was wrapped loosely in some white cloth; she was wrapped from the shoulders down so you could not see her hands which had been obviously been very badly cut and scared, nor could you see the many cuts that were across her body. She was low down on the ground, I suppose that was because it was cooler near the ground. The Prince slowly stepped forward and then actually sat so he was right next to her. I suppose he was surprised at how she looked different from when he last saw her. Her face had been bloodied and her hair tangled, but I had washed her face and brushed her hair. It was hard to believe the fact she was dead, she just looked…alive. Like any minute she would sit up and probably ask us why we were staring. I joined the Prince where he was sitting.

"Are you scared?" I asked.

"Why should I be scared of her? She is dead," he replied. I thought about what he said, I felt like asking if he truly believed that, but as I looked at him I saw it was true. "I think they're right…maybe she doesn't need to be dressed in the most expensive clothes," he murmured.

"Why do you say that?" I asked curiously.

"Because why should you decorate something that is already beautiful. Shirin was and will always be beautiful, but that is natural, not something gained through material items," he explained. His words were true but Shirin still deserved to be dressed well.

"Yes, she is naturally beautiful – but she has the beauty of a princess, and that is how she will be buried," I said. He began to nod slowly.

"Yes you're right," he murmured. He then stood and left the tent, I followed him outside.

"Are you feeling okay?" I asked him, he looked slightly plain, as if he wasn't thinking anything, or if he was it wasn't clear what.

"Yes…I feel better. I know Shirin is gone…and I know she'll never come back, I have to face up to that, when we get to Amber, and when Shirin is buried we have to continue with our lives," he said. I understood and agreed with what he said. We wouldn't forget Shirin, if such a thing was possible, but neither would we allow the past to rule our lives, and with that final thought, we separated to return to our tents and got some sleep, tomorrow we would be arriving in Amber, arriving back in my home.


	28. Meet the Family

**Okay, I am very sorry if people thought I had discontinued this story, I haven't and I'm sorry I took so long to update, I've been kinda busy and all...this chapter is from Farah's view, and I apologise if anyone finds it short of crummy after such a long wait.**

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**Chapter 28: Meet the family**

I could barely hide my grin; I was home, back in Amber, my home. Admittedly, it had been 'altered', as King Shahraman had said, but in time it would look like it had before, a city of beauty. As I walked through the corridors to my father's throne room, I did my best to hide any of my excitement, mainly because I knew my father would be slightly angry at me, after all, I had run away, so he was expecting me to look at least a little remorseful.

"Um, Farah, before I meet your family, is their anything in particular you should tell me about them," the Prince asked me quietly as we approached the room, opposite of us were the gardens, I stared at them, the tranquil place hadn't been damaged too much by the Persian army, nothing had been done that couldn't be repaired, just like the rest of the city.

"Well, no, not really," I replied, I thought about my family for a few moments and then realised something. "Though my brothers may be a little angry at you because they'll obviously think you kidnapped me, but I'm sure after you got past that matter you'll all get on fine,"

"Well, how many brothers exactly do you have?" he enquired.

"Oh not many," I said, "Fourteen," He suddenly stopped, as did the rest of the entourage that trailed behind us.

"Fourteen?" he repeated, almost choking as he did so. I shrugged; it was nothing out of the ordinary. I continued walking ahead of him.

"Yes, fourteen: Ajay, Avanindra, Harshal, Harsha, Yuyutsu, Nandan, Prajeet, Puneet, Puskara, Vidur, Eknath, Santosh, Sankara, Shashee and Kanak," I said reciting the names of all my brothers. The Prince stood, I looked back at him; he was looking at his hands, as if counting on them. He looked up.

"Farah, that's fifteen," he pointed out.

"Oh – I didn't really count little Kanak because to be honest at most he'll probably kick you in the shins and then have his afternoon nap, he is only three," I explained. He began walking again and caught up with me.

"Farah – how do you expect me to remember all those names – some times I can't even remember my own name!" I pointed out.

"Really? You do have bad memory," I said casually.

"Farah – I am being serious, what am I going to do, I can't even recall one name you just said!" he whispered sharply.

"Oh don't worry, I'll just prompt you on the way, they usually stand in alphabetical order anyway," I murmured. The doors to the throne room were opened. Sat on a highly decorative throne was a tall but slightly plump man, my father. He immediately stood and I rushed to embrace him. He was taller than I was, but shorter than the Prince and his father. I had my father's eyes, and nose and I had also gotten the blackness of my father's hair, but now it was nothing more than grey and he hid the majority of it under a turban. His clothes were lavish, as was the room, as a child I hadn't always been allowed in here, so nearly every time I was I noticed something new about it. My uncles sat beside on each side of the throne on lower but just as lavish chairs. My father was not the king, but now almost considered it, my grandfather had been seriously ill for many years and due to his sickness his eldest son, my father, took his place, but remained with the title of a Maharajah.

"Farah – do you have any idea of how much trouble you disappearing has caused?" my father asked of me, I didn't reply, I knew I had caused a lot of trouble though. I stood back and found the Prince, his father and the rest of the entourage where stood behind me. I stepped aside so as my father could greet the Persian King.

"So where are your brothers?" the Prince whispered in my ear.

"They won't be here, only my father, grandfather uncles and guests are allowed in here, we'll meet them later, when we are excused," I explained. My father turned to the Prince after talking to Shahraman.

"And you are the young man that accompanied my daughter on her journey?" he enquired. The Prince bowed as a sign of respect and then replied with 'Yes, your majesty'.

"Well, I'd like to thank you firstly for making sure that no harm came to her, but why on Earth did you not escort her immediately back to her to the palace," my father enquired, not fiercely, but firmly, my father was a fair man and frankly I could tell he didn't care who was involved as long as I was alive and well. The Prince opened his mouth, about to reply, but I knew he'd probably just say something that'd just complicate things so before a word could drop from his mouth and I butted in.

"Father could I please go and meet with my brothers?" I asked.

"Uh, yes of course, they'll be wondering how you are," he said briefly, and waved his hand signalling I could go, however he noticed that I was also pulling the Prince along with me. "Farah, I said you could go, not the young Prince," he pointed out; I stopped abruptly and turned round.

"Yes but his majesty the Prince is keen to meet my brothers, aren't you?" I said turning to him with a fake smile plastered across my face.

"Actually I don't mi – " he began

"See just dying to meet them," I said and quickly hurried along, almost tripping the Prince up as I dragged him with me. I could just tell my father was staring baffled at me.

"What did you do that for?" the Prince asked me as we were walking through the corridors of the palace.

"Well can you honestly say you actually wanted to engage in a long conversation with my father?" I asked.

"Well…partly, and anyway, he's going to want to know what happened sooner or later and every single time he wants to question me you can't keep making excuses to leave the room," the Prince pointed out.

"Yes I can, I'm his favourite daughter, I don't mean to sound smug, but I have him wrapped around my little finger," I said, it was true, until recently, I had been the only girl in my family, and ever since I could remember, my father had always wanted me to be happy so if I wanted something, I would most certainly get it, he treated me like a treasured item, it surprised me that I never became seriously spoilt.

"Somehow I cannot imagine he'll act too pleased when you say you wish to marry a Persian prince, whether you want to or not, I know he'll not allow it," said the Prince slightly pessimistically.

"Well…" I started, "If I can completely repulse Eknath then I know for certain he definitely won't want to wed me,"

"Who's Eknath? Isn't he one of your brothers?" asked the Prince.

"Yes, but this is someone else, the man I'm arranged to marry, I briefly met him when I was young; seems a nice gentlemen but I'd rather keep things on the friendship level…mainly because the idea of marrying someone with the same name as my brother is just…unusual," I murmured, thinking.

"Well why don't you just be an arrogant, lazy, foul-mouthed – " the Prince began

"Yeah, don't over do it," I said sharply.

"…Spoilt princess - that should be enough to scare him into living like a hermit," said the Prince.

"Yes, I did come up with that idea before you mentioned it," I said slightly blatantly.

"See – you're acting arrogant already!" smiled the Prince. I rolled my eyes.

"Well, if I'm correct Eknath should be visiting this month briefly so if and when he decides I'm too much of a pig to marry then you can consult my father about you taking Eknath's place," I said, I stopped walking in the corridor and stepped out into the gardens as I noticed my brothers. "In the meantime I think it best for you to just suck up to my brothers and father," I added. My brothers noticed me and came racing over, my closest brother, Yuyutsu, embracing me.

"Farah where have you been?" most of them demanded to know. Then they noticed the Prince, it was like their persona changed entirely, with me they were kind and happy but then they began to approach the Prince and their eyes seemed to burn with anger.

"You," muttered Yuyutsu darkly, he acted in a way I had never seen him act before, he was a general in Amber's army, so I knew he had probably acted like this before though, but it was the way he would act with an enemy prisoner not a friend of mine. "You kidnapped my sister!" he cried.

"No you don't understand, I – " started the Prince but was suddenly punched very hard by Yuyutsu. He stepped back and smacked a pillar with the sudden blow and fell to the ground.

"Yuyutsu!" I cried, I really wanted to yell at him, but I knew what he had done was because he thought I had been kidnapped, I just wish he had listened to reason. I was about to sit down by the Prince but Yuyutsu took my arm and swiftly pulled me away. It seemed I'd have to wait to they weren't around to go and talk to the Prince…

I later found the Prince sitting in a room he had been given. He was sat on his bed, staring with eyes of thought at the ceiling; he did not appear to immediately notice my presence, but his eyes turned and then he sat up after realising I was there.

"Your brothers really know how to make someone feel welcomed don't they?" he asked sarcastically, but not bitterly, which was reassuring because if my brothers were always at war with the Prince, then it would make my married life, if it were to the Prince, utter hell.

"Give them a while and they will get use to you…" I murmured, which was actually a polite way of say 'be quiet and go around kissing their feet till they like you'. "I asked my father and it appears Eknath arrived earlier this week,"

"And?" enquired the Prince wanting to know what my father and I thought of him.

"Well, my father is going to take some convincing, and I just want to say – tonight at the evening meal, I'm going to be acting in a way purely to put Eknath off, so don't think it's the real me and get put off," I said.

"What if I'm attracted to the fake-you?" the Prince asked.

"Can you honestly say you'd find slurping my food and belching attractive? Because I don't know many men that find getting food spewed over them while having a conversation an aphrodisiac," I said bluntly.

"Point taken." The Prince murmured.

"Anyway, the evening meal is in an hour – around my father you have to act educated but always wanting to know more, ruthless but warm-hearted, slightly slimy in the way you'll be sucking up to him but at the same time appearing very noble," I explained.

"Farah, you're asking me to be the human personification of an oxymoron, are you aware of that?" he asked.

"Yes, and that's because if you do act the way you normally do, my father will think you're an oxymoron, minus the 'oxy' that it is," I said with an affixed sarcastic smile.

"Fine, I'll act in your unusual contradicting way if it'll persuade your father," the Prince finally agreed.

"I'm sure it will," I smiled happily, and then disappeared to prepare for the meal. I suppose at that time it never actually occurred to me that I was trying to make the Prince be someone he wasn't, I was trying to make him be someone my father wanted him to be, and even then, I wasn't sure what my father wanted, at the time, I probably should have realised that the only person my father wanted me to marry was someone who didn't wear a mask and spoke their own words, not words put into their mouth by someone else...

As the blue sky began to darken, I met the rest of the family in the hall we usually ate in. The starter was yet to be brought out from the kitchen so in the short period of time before it was to be we talked. My family was very large so numerous dishes had to be made so we all could eat, it made me wonder slightly about families of the same size but with less money, when I thought about such things it made me realise how very blessed I was to have been born into royalty. I could see my family hadn't taken to the Persian royal family very much, as I entered the room, it was quite clear that one family would stay to one side of the room, and the other to the other side of the room. I wanted all the uneasy tension to disappear and when I went and talked to the Prince my family became a little more accepting and starting to engage in some brief conversation, which was better than nothing.

"So which one is Eknath?" the Prince whispered to me. Eknath's father was also present, and it wasn't particularly helpful seeing how he seemed best friends with my father. Eknath was similar to the Prince, he was of medium height and slim, he was a little bit darker with a sharper nose but with softer eyes that were brown and I assumed longer hair (which I guessed was black as his father's was) as it was kept under a turban. Eknath was attractive and having very briefly talked to him earlier he seemed a man with a good heart, yet I couldn't love him, he seemed more like a brother than a husband to me, and I could see he thought the same, when he looked at me there was love in his eyes but not in the way it was in the Prince's eyes, somehow I was sure that for Eknath there was someone else…but I couldn't ask him about it, if I did then he'd assume I had someone too and then he tell my father. We uneasily sat at the table, and for the first few minutes there was nothing but just a deadly silence. It was always difficult starting a conversation in that place because of how your single voice would echo embarrassedly around, but it was difficult even more so because no one actually _wanted _to talk to each other. I was placed opposite Eknath, which was probably meant to have been done in a way 'cunning way which I wouldn't notice'; quoting something my father probably had said no doubt. I guess I had to start looking very off-putting, however, before I could even shovel food in my mouth in a manner-less style, something unusual had happen – Eknath had somehow managed to get there first, he was eating more grotesquely than anything I had ever seen. Not even in Almalendu's Tavern did they eat in such a way. I couldn't just copy, because that would make us look even more the perfect couple what with us being alike; I was actually very annoyed that he had seemingly stolen my plan, because I knew he had – I had seen him eating alone earlier when he wouldn't have noticed me (I was not stalking him, but making some 'observations') and at that time he ate perfectly politely. He coughed very unnecessary making food spew everywhere, I had to hand it to him, if he was doing this purely to disgust me, then he was doing a fantastic job. He chewed very loudly, coughed, belched and made this horrible nasal sound occasionally. I was pretty sure just like my stomach; my father was turned and now definitely didn't want me to marry this person. What crossed my mind though was why didn't _he _want to marry me? I decided that I would follow him once the meal was over and ask him.

It was hard trying to find Eknath once the meal had ended, I told the Prince I was going to go talk to him, but after I said that I couldn't find him. I went down into the moonlit gardens after giving up, but to my surprise he was also there. I didn't notice him at first; he was sat under a tree with a face drowned in thought. It was only till I stood right beside him did he notice and look up.

"Princess Farah, why are you here?" he asked.

"Why are you?" I asked him, not answering.

"I wanted to think," he replied. I sat down beside him.

"Well I wanted to think too," I explained. He looked at me quizzically.

"Correct me if I am wrong, but haven't you just taken my answer and used it as your own in a way which I have to point out is very obvious?" Eknath pointed out.

"Well I didn't fuss when you stole my idea," I muttered.

"Pardon?" he queried briefly hearing what I had said.

"I'll be honest with you, Eknath; if we are to marry then you'll need to learn more table manners," I murmured. Eknath stared at me with widened eyes.

"What? You still want to marry?" cried Eknath. I kept on remaining oblivious to his intentions.

"I am sure I did just imply that with I just said," I replied. Eknath got to his feet.

"Farah, you are a beautiful girl but I really do not want to marry you, the only love I have for you is that of friendship and nothing more," Eknath explained desperately. There was a few moments silence. Eknath looked confused. "W-why aren't you angry? Hit me in the shin or something if it'll make you feel better," he said.

"Eknath, I'm not going to inflict pain on you just because you don't want to marry me, and even if I was it would be with a bow and an arrow, but you were right about aiming for your shins," I smiled, Eknath managed to crack a slight smile too, "But, like you, I don't really love you either, and now I'm guessing, that like me, you're probably in love with someone else," I continued softly. There was silence, Eknath looked at the ground briefly.

"You're right, but I just can't tell my father, our marriage has been arranged since we were young," Eknath explained.

"Well you don't have to talk to _your _father, but to mine," I explained.

"Elaborate on that," Eknath asked.

"My father, after the performance you gave, probably wouldn't invite you to another gathering till time itself runs out, you act even more oafish and then you've practically spat, torn and burnt the wedding arrangements. However, the person I _do _wish to marry is a Persian, so if you could subtly hint to my father how good it would be if I were to marry some of that origin what with the alliances that could be made and the trade that could be start not only to mention having one of the world's biggest armies behind, then he may be persuaded," I explained. Eknath looked quite surprised about something.

"I have to admit, for a _woman _you're actually rather clever Farah," Eknath stated. I looked at him sharply.

"What are you trying to imply?" I asked quickly.

"Nothing, but…well, you're a girl, and politics really isn't a place for a girl," Eknath explained.

"Remember what I said about my bow and arrow Eknath? I'm really thinking of using them now," I hinted sharply. Eknath put his hands up.

"Okay, okay, I'm going…" he murmured and went off. I heard him talk with someone in the distance, and I heard my name mentioned, then I heard two types of footsteps, one of which was probably his and was going out in the distance, the other was coming towards me. I looked to see a rather old man looking at me. His face was familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on where he was from. He was dressed in white robes and his eyes seemed almost shut.

"Princess Farah, you recall the young woman that died on your journey," he asked in an aged voice. He was talking about Shirin.

"Yes," I replied, I then realised who this man was, he was a priest, when members of my family died he was the one that arranged the funerals.

"Well, her body is now prepared…and most of the arrangements have been made, I was told you were thinking of a burial, not a cremation, yes?" the Priest asked, his voice was gentle, a way of speaking he had probably mastered over the years. I nodded. "A tomb has been prepared for her, she will be placed in the crypt for noblemen and women, those close to the royal family, I assume that was what she was descended of?" he asked. I found myself nodding, well…for all I, or even Shirin herself, could of known she may have very well been, but I seriously doubted it, if she was from a family of money then they would have not abandoned her, and even then there were suspicions around what she had said in her moments of craziness. "Well, it is usually the job of someone close to the departed to decide anything such as clothing to be worn or facial decoration for the deceased, with there being no such person except for you and the young Persian prince, and in this particular case - what with it being a woman – it has to also be a woman, that being you..." the Priest tried to explain. My face must have dropped with the realisation that he wanted ME to help prepare a dead body, what with what he quickly added: "But you could always have someone else do it,"

"No, I'll be fine…" I found myself murmuring. He thanked me and then told me where I would have to go tomorrow, he then left me. I sat silently, not sure how to feel, was I meant to be scared? Since she had died, I had just tried my best to block any thoughts about Shirin. I wanted the funeral over and done with so I could move on, however harsh that sounded, yet I didn't want to let go. I was confused about how to feel, I was happy I was going to hopefully marry someone I loved yet I was sad because I saying goodbye to someone I cared about. I stood and slowly began to walk to my chambers, I needed sleep and I needed to think less. As I walked quietly and in the light of candles, I made a promise to myself, when I got married, I wouldn't yet any human ever harm me or anyone I cared about again…it was what I wanted, but who knows what fate would bring.

* * *

**Okay, again, I'm sorry for not updating sooner, I've become a little slack with that what with me nearing the end of the story, I'll try my best to have this story finished (which it still isn't) and my next one started by the end of September. **


	29. Goodbyes

**Okay, it's taken a while to put this up because I wanted to put it up WITH the epilogue/end. I apologise that these last few chapters have been boring but it's been hard trying to make this part of the story light-hearted considering that the characters are pretty depressed. Shirin, being not human CAN return, she is a being that will only ever properly die when one action is taken. The ending of this story may prove pretty abrupt and may leave many ends untied, that is why I am writing a short continuation to this story that should bring everything to a end and leave it at the beginning of WW – it will pretty much go over what happens between now in this story, and before WW, because that isn't really covered and there is a large possibility of what could happen; so, as you read the end of this story, please don't be angry at me ;). Again this is from Farah's view:**

**Chapter 29: Goodbyes**

I stood awkwardly out the room; I didn't want to enter because I didn't know what I was going to see. I knew full well what dead bodies looked like…but it was different it was a dead body of a friend. I had woken up early because I had wanted this to be over and done with, yet I'd probably wasted at least an hour trying to mentally prepare myself and that quite clearly proved useless. I was on the first level of the palace, the corridor I was stood in, like most areas of the palace overlooked some greenery. I could hear talking from below so I approached the edge and peered down. It was Eknath…and someone else. I couldn't see her face from the angle that I stood at, but she was a short girl with black hair, I had to admit, she wasn't particularly attractive, she was actually rather plain, but that didn't seem to matter to Eknath, he appeared to be murmuring 'sweet nothings' to her, his eyes glazed with affection. I hated to ruin the moment but it had to be done. I coughed loudly. Almost immediately the two jumped apart from each other and the young girl began blush terribly.

"Farah! What are you doing here?" cried Eknath sharply. "Were you following me?"

"Yes Eknath, you live such an amazing life I feel the need to watch every single move you make," I replied sarcastically. "I'm making some burial preparations," I murmured.

"Oh…I'm sorry…" murmured Eknath. There was a short silence. The young girl continued to blush.

"So are you the girl Eknath wants to marry?" I asked. She came out with a lot stutters before just giving up and nodding. She seemed like a nice girl, well, there was nothing particularly I could judge her on, she looked completely harmless, she looked very timid and to be honest, very suppressed. I could sort of picture her personality although she hadn't spoken, and I just figured she'd be more suited to Eknath than I would. She was royalty, I could tell by her clothes, or if not royalty, she was of noble blood.

"So, how do you know each other?" I asked. This time she managed to reply. She spoke clearly and elegantly, yet she lack confidence.

"My father; is Eknath's father's advisor," she replied, "We have lived together our whole lives," she added. Eknath was my fifth second-cousin, so if the two were to marry then she would become one of my cousins too, which would be easier to understand compared to the idea of Eknath and I marrying.

"Farah, I talked to your father, he is definitely reconsidering, he is actually having talks with the Persian King, I am sure when he has reached a decision he'll call you to the throne room," replied Eknath.

"Good…and what of you two? How are you two going to find a way to marry?" I asked.

"That should not be a problem, for a long time my father has wished me to marry Eknath, not so long ago my father was almost persuaded, but of course, as this journey approached he changed his mind again," explained the young girl. Things seemed to be fitting together perfectly. Things were going to end happily ever after then, or at least that is what it would be if Shirin was still alive.

"Things are working out well then…well, I have matters to attend to…I will see you later at the evening meal," I said. Eknath gave a small bow of his head as acknowledgment, and the young girl gave a small courtesy, I then turned and left. I turned and looked at the door; I guess I had to get it over with. I approached the door and place a hand on the handle. I just shut my eyes and opened the door, whatever I saw couldn't be that bad. It wasn't it. There was a stone alter in the centre of a small candlelit room, on which lay Shirin cover lightly in white linen. On one of the four walls were shutters. I wanted to move and open them up to let in some natural light but I found myself glued to the spot that I stood on. She looked so…peaceful. I felt like I could go up to her and shake her and she'd just wake up…but I knew that wasn't going to happen so I went over to the shutters and opened, the morning light flooded the room and blinded me for a few moments, once I was able to look back with the sun hurting my eyes too much I did so, it was a beautiful day. It wasn't just an ordinary day though…I turned round and looked at Shirin…today was a day for goodbyes…

A few hours past, Shirin was all dressed up and, however awkward it had felt, I had managed to decorate her face with make-up. It was odd; I have never seen her the way she was dressed before. Her dress was a white lengha with a golden hemming. She looked much older than she actually was; she looked older than me even; she also looked even more 'royal' than me, though I didn't understand how that was possible. I suddenly heard someone called me, the Prince. I quickly stepped outside.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Where have you been? I haven't seen you all morning," he asked.

"Shirin…I needed to do the final preparations," I murmured in reply, gesturing briefly to the door behind me. He stared at it.

"And?" he asked; I assumed he wanted to know how she was.

"Well…look for yourself…" I murmured stepping aside. He stared at the door; I could tell he was feeling like I did before.

"I-I'm not sure I should…" he murmured stepping back.

"This is the last time you'll ever get to see her…you shouldn't waste this chance…" I explained.

"I know, I am not waste – " he began before I interrupted.

"There is nothing to be scared of, it's just Shirin," I added. I had persuaded him. He opened the door and slowly peered round. He then pushed the door open even more. He was silent but stared at Shirin. He approached the altar and stood right beside her. I saw him slowly ease and slump to his knees. I knew he had begun crying although I could only see the back of him. I heard him quietly murmur her name. His tears made it hard for me to understand what he was saying, all I could hear were Persian words; I could translate what he was saying. It was also so odd to hear or see him cry. He was shaking his head and he sounded like he was begging. I was able to translate bits of what he said through his sobs but I eventually managed to piece together what he was saying: 'Shirin, we've come so far together, you can't just leave me now…if it wasn't for you then…then I wouldn't be with Farah, you can't just go now…" he murmured. He placed his head down, and continued to sob incoherently. He was holding one of her hands; I had put gloves on both, mainly because one had been severely damaged when she was trying to fight the beast off back in the Temple. I wasn't sure what to do…so I slowly approached him and stooped to his level. I placed a hand on his back comfortingly; he turned and stared at me, his eyes full of tears.

"I-I can't just let go Farah, s-she's always been there…" he sobbed. It made sense, the Prince had only known me for a day but had managed to fall in love with me, it was only normal for to feel strongly towards Shirin. I embraced him reassuringly.

"It's time to say goodbye now, we have to…" I murmured. I helped him stand up, we walked back to the door, but before we left, he turned round and looked back at her one final time.

"Goodbye Shirin…" he murmured and then we left.

As the day went on, the Prince remained in a quite and disheartened mood. It turned out the young woman Eknath loved was called Teja and she really was like what I thought she would, quiet and gentle. Seeing her with Eknath I could tell they made a good pair. Both were very gentle, calm and good-hearted. The sun began to set and the evening meal was being prepared, it was about time for us to go to hall, but the Prince didn't want to move, we were sat in the gardens. He hadn't said anything for a long time but suddenly said something, something that wasn't about Shirin, it surprised me.

"What was your childhood like Farah?" he asked.

"Well…like anyone's I suppose, I was taught how to act like princess by my aunts and mother, and how to fight by brothers…there was nothing out of the ordinary…" I murmured, "What about you?"

"My brothers and sisters took care of me, but sometimes they couldn't so…so they left me with this person, I can't really remember him, but he was probably the best person that came to a good father figure…I honestly don't remember him or his name…I expect he'll be quite old now. I suppose the reason my father cherishes me so much now is because he missed out on a lot of years from my childhood…too busy trying to strengthen Persia," the Prince replied, "Shirin had a sad childhood…" he added now probably thinking about her. "Do you think we'll ever see her again?"

"I don't know," I replied looking at the stars. He looked up at them too.

"Well…the dead stay dead…" he murmured.

"Do they?" I asked.

"Well, yes, because time…" he began and stopped, he knew what I meant, anything that was controlled by time was reversible. "I wish she had explained what she meant before she died…" he added slowly, it was a thought that I shared. A young servant interrupted us and told us that the evening meal had been prepared and was set, and so, with this news, we stood and made our way to hall.

People were still talking even though the meal was set; no one had actually sat down to eat. I saw my father, the prince's and Eknath's all stood talking. There was another man talking too, but he didn't look familiar to me.

"That is my father," said a voice behind me, it was Teja.

"Have you heard what they have been discussing?" I asked. Teja nodded.

"Matters concerning the marriage…but I have heard nothing yet that is for certain…" murmured Teja. I didn't like the sound of that…what would happen if they didn't like the idea at all? Would I have to live the rest of my life with Eknath? It was only now I that I realised the whole uncertainty of the situations. I stood, with either a blank or quizzical face, considering the thought of them saying 'no'. It was only when I noticed people sitting down did I move. It was time to eat, but I just couldn't, they could so easily just not allow it, my mind became flooded with different reason of why they wouldn't…and then the most unusual thing happened. I felt a hand on my shoulder and I felt words in my ear…'It's your fate Farah'. I turned round, but no one was stood there, I could have swore the words had been said, I even felt the breath tingle my ears, but no one was there…I thought about the words…it was my fate…

I ate slowly…I eventually gave up and allowed my still-full plate to be taken away. My father then stood. Why was he standing – he only ever stood when making an announcement.

"As everyone will know, my eldest daughter Farah is due to be wed," he began, at the mentioning of my name he turned and smiled at me. I should have tried to smile back but it was hard because I didn't know what he was going to say next. "And as you also should know, over the past few days, India and Persia's alliance has grown stronger, and I hope this to continue for as long as time itself. As a symbol of our alliance, I take great pleasure in announcing that my daughter Farah will wed King Shahraman's youngest son. Arrangements will commence tomorrow," announced my father and sat. Although completely filled with joy I tried to look somewhat upset.

"But what about Eknath, father?" I enquired.

"Do not put a second thought to him, Farah, he is not 'suitable' to marry you," my father stated. Eknath, managed to look very depressed almost tearful, I had to admit I was somewhat envious of how well he could mask his happiness, he was much better at it then I was, all I could do was look down, trying to hide my smile…

After the meal, I walked peacefully through the gardens with the Prince, we didn't say much, what we had set out to happen was going to happen, nothing was going to get in the way of that. The smell of incense lingered under our noses, we followed it, and eventually we found ourselves near the royal crypt, over the tomb the priest was stood chanting slowly. I felt upset, but it wasn't like the sadness I had felt before, as I stood and looked at the tomb, I felt it finally set in – Shirin was dead and gone, and I just had to let go. I didn't feel guilty as what I suppose was to be expected, I looked at the Prince, and I could tell he felt the same. I wondered a little what Shirin's feelings would be towards our marriage…I didn't think she would be angry but happy; I wondered what path she would take if she was still alive, maybe she would have stayed with us…maybe she would have gone back to her old life, maybe she would have found a new life…I suppose I would never know, it was impossible to find out, but then again, as Shirin had often proved to me, very little was impossible.

I didn't dream during the night, but as I woke I heard a lot of fuss occurring. The wedding was already being planned, my family and the Prince's talked a lot around me and what they spoke about was often concerning me but I didn't listen much. A date had been set, it wasn't too far away, six months…six months…that day that would happen in six months time wouldn't be happening if a lot of certain things hadn't, if I hadn't trusted the Prince, if the Prince hadn't trusted a thief…a thief…none of this would have happened if it weren't for a thief…

**Last paragraph there was kinda just musing, okay, you should kinda understand what's happened now, the Prince and Farah are gonna get married, so for the last chapter I'm going to jump ahead to the wedding day – just assume nothing has major has happened in that period between now and then – oh, and the narrator is NOT Farah, it will be explained in the short continuation I'm going to write.**


	30. Epilogue

**Remember – neither Farah nor the Prince is narrating this**.

**Epilogue**

I stood, among the happy faces and groups of joyful people, watching the bride and groom. I found the whole situation a little amusing, often I would see Farah or the Prince's eyes meet with mine and I would be sure they would be staring at me, but I know they weren't, they didn't even know I was there…

I wasn't quite sure why I was here, I had chosen to come, I hadn't been asked but I know I probably would have been if they'd been able to contact me. I was glad the wedding was taken place, a lot of hard work had been done for it to happen – and I didn't mean the planning of the wedding.

I continued to watch the couple…I still loved him, but I knew my place wasn't with him – it never would be…but eventually I would have to return, not for him though…I had sacrificed a lot for him, and although I didn't want him to give as much as I did, I did want something in return…

I wouldn't return now, things would be awkward if I did…I had to wait, maybe a month, maybe a year, maybe quite a few years…things would always awkward I suppose, but I_ had_ to come back, I had a reason to…I turned round and left the grand decorative hall, I walked into the gardens and stared into the sky…when I returned…it would be the dawn of a new life…

**And that's kinda the end to New Memories…I hope you enjoyed it, I should be writing the next (and last) bit to it soon – I'm planning on calling it 'The Dawn of A New Life', courtesy of Lady Discord. BTW, I am really sorry if you found this ending somewhat weak…I wanted to leave it of with a odd mysterious end but I find it kinda hard writing in that way…well, thanks to everyone that reviewed and read my story!**


	31. new notice to readers

**NOTICE TO ALL MY READERS:**

Okay, I've been persuaded not to delete this story...but still keep in mind it might take an awful long time till I get round to writing that sequel.

Thanks so much for reading my fic

Hannah


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